The Hansen Identity
by scifiromance
Summary: Will Seven and Chakotay's relationship survive her parents being freed from the Borg by Voyager? Will she be able to forgive them for bringing her into the Delta Quadrant or they her for losing so much of her humanity?   C/7 established
1. Chapter 1

"The Internal Council is deeply obliged to you Captain for agreeing to accompany me to my new post on Kamsia…" The Padrian ambassador paused to take another long sip of his glass of kanaar, the Cardassian drink being the only one on board which suited his physiology. "I myself ma eternally grateful, the trip from Padria to Kamsia hasn't been an advisable one of late."

Janeway delicately dabbed off the remains of Neelix's attempt at Padrian cuisine with a napkin before answering. "Kamsia is on our route, it's no problem to take you to your new post Ambassador, not after how gracious and hospitable your government has been to us."

The ambassador inclined his head in acknowledgement of the compliment. "You may not find the Kamsians so open but they are harmless…"

Chakotay spoke up from his place across the table, anything to avoid having to take another sip of kanaar, besides he was intrigued by the ambassador's earlier comment. "Is there some dispute or spatial anomaly which makes the journey between the planets difficult?"

"Oh no, it's a recent development. A Borg cube appeared just outside of the orbit of Kamsia four days ago. We have to take such threats into consideration…"

Janeway's eyes went urgently to Seven at the foot of the table. "Is this area known for Borg activity Seven?"

"No, this sector is far from the perimeters of Borg space." Seven replied conclusively. In spite of this her curiosity was piqued. "Do you have any more detailed information?" She asked the ambassador.

"Apparently it just appeared out of nowhere, materialised in front of the scanners. There was quite a panic on the surface but it was heavily damaged, the Kamsian planetary defence net managed to neutralise it but I believe there's still half a cube floating in the sky. They're desperate to get rid of it; it's understandably undermining their trade."

"What do you think Seven?" asked the Captain.

"The most plausible explanation is that it somehow fell out of transwarp."

"Maybe we could figure out some way of disposing of this cube, help the Kamsians out. We need deuterium and they trade in it don't they?" Harry mused thoughtfully.

"Seven?" The Captain questioned, approving of Harry's suggestion.

"It's possible Captain." Seven answered noncommittally.

"You are excused to investigate. We'll be there by morning." The Captain swiftly ordered after only a moment's consideration.

"Yes Captain." Seven rose to begin her task with no further fuss but as she left the table the Doctor felt the need to issue her a reminder.

"Don't work too late. I want you to get some regeneration in before your maintenance check tomorrow." Seven nodded silently but not before she caught Chakotay's watching eye and rolled her own slightly, getting a barely noticeable shrug from him in response before taking to her heel and leaving the Mess Hall.

The Padrian watched her go with a curious frown settled on his features. "You've done an admirable job of civilising her Captain, is she trustworthy?"

Chakotay squeezed the glass in his hand to breaking point, not listening to the Captain's nondescript, civil reply as he fought a tide of protective anger. Not trustworthy! Loyal almost to a fault was more like it! If only they knew he'd much rather be alone with Seven in Astrometrics than trapped on the diplomatic roundabout.

Seven pressed firmly down on the doorbell, a muffled call of "Enter" preceded the door's smooth opening and she stepped inside. "Good Evening." She said softly.

Chakotay rose swiftly from his chair and kissed her in greeting. "After six months you still use the doorbell? I gave you the key code long ago!"

"I know and I appreciate it, but it's only courtesy." She replied, putting her arms round his neck in a silent request for closeness which he immediately granted. Kissing his neck she murmured, "That dinner was even longer than usual, did any interesting topics arise after my departure?"

He laughed softly. "Not unless you count a complete appraisal of the Ambassador's family and connections interesting! I was hoping you'd give me an excuse to leave…"

"There was little for me to do, Astrometrics' scans were inconclusive on the study of the cube." She couldn't say she was particularly disappointed; she was perfectly willing to avoid the Borg wherever possible. Carefully she undid the collar of Chakotay's formal uniform and let her hand roam over his upper chest. "My time is limited tonight…" She said quietly with an undercurrent of suggestive impatience.

"Doctor's orders I know. No more work talk tonight I promise…" He murmured in her ear as his hold on her tightened and he guided her deeper into the room.

The outline of familiar objects in the room became clearer as sleep loosened its all consuming grip on her and her brain slid into wakefulness. 0146 hours, if she left to regenerate now she'd have a full four hours… This thought drifted away as she once again pressed her face into Chakotay's upper arm and gazed through half closed lashes at his soundly asleep face. The index finger of her cybernetic hand brushed absent-mindedly against his tattooed forehead and down his cheekbone. Six months of peaceful, private life with him had put things into perspective after so long as a clueless observer. She loved him so, hoped she had made that clear to him but she knew they couldn't be in this bubble of privacy much longer; others would start to intrude and judge… It wasn't that he was ashamed of her, she knew him well enough to know that wasn't the case but they had never made their feelings clear to anyone but each other and who else did they need? She sighed, she really would need to regenerate, they'd had enough close calls with the Doctor and she wasn't in the mood for another. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she began to dress. Why was it that she always slept to his left? Perhaps such habits were customary or expected? She leaned over and gave Chakotay a gentle parting kiss; it was of no relevance if he'd never complained.

The lilac orb of Kamsia almost completely filled the screen but it was the decimated remnants of the Borg cube in it's orbit which held the attention of everyone on the bridge. "It's like a monster's taken a huge bite out of it…" muttered Tom in awe.

Seven lifted her head up from her console, eyebrows fully raised. "An unusual piece of imagery Lieutenant but incorrect. It appears one of the transwarp engine's cooling tanks exploded."

"A cooling tank did that? Must be a heavy duty piece of tech." B'Elanna commented.

"It is." Seven confirmed.

"Is the engine salvageable?" The Captain asked.

"Unknown. Wait…" Seven's hands sped over the console, something had caught her eye. Confirmation made her gasp. "Part of the cube is still viable; there are life signs, twenty Kamsians, three Tellerites, a Vulcan, two humans…"

"Humans?" Gasped the Captain. Gripping the edge of her chair as the rather daunting decision came to her she suddenly said, "Open a channel to Kamsia."

The Kamsian leader appeared on the screen. "What can I do for you Captain? Thank you for bringing the Padrian Ambassador with you."

Janeway waved her hand dismissively. "Prime Minister, do you realise there are twenty of your citizens on that cube?"

He uttered a deep regretful sigh. "The crew of the Almiva, lost to us before we could fully disable the cube. If you are able to recover the bodies we would be grateful."

"There are no bodies, they're alive."

"As drones? We will send ships to finally destroy the vessel if its still active…"

"We can hopefully restore them as individuals, we've done it before."

The Kamsian bit his lip, "It would perhaps be best to allow the families to grieve…we don't want drones here…"

"Prime Minister, there are six Federation citizens on that cube and I intend to rescue them, I cannot leave your people…think of their happiness at their return…"

He frowned in thought for a minute and then spoke again somewhat reluctantly. "As you wish, but be discreet about it!" The view screen went blank and Janeway turned to Seven. "You, the Doctor, Chakotay and Harry all beam over to the cube."

Seven's eyes focused anxiously on Chakotay but the Captain looked firm. "Yes Captain." She murmured submissively.

Chakotay walked past Harry standing next to the transporter pad and made his way to Seven, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "You don't have to go if you don't want to, I'm sure the Captain would understand…"

Seven twisted her head round to face him, eyes flashing. "It's you who should not be going!"

"Don't worry, I can look after myself just fine…" he replied, more testily than he had intended.

Harry glanced up from his away kit at the angry whispering, unable to miss that Seven and Chakotay were standing closer together than was natural for colleagues. He smirked out of their sight, the rumours had been swirling about them for months but they hadn't exactly been seen making out under a console, no one had been able prove anything and now here he was witnessing was seemed to be a lovers' tiff! He would win the bet with Tom and B'Elanna…

"Ready to disembark?" The Doctor's voice echoed through the small room and Seven and Chakotay parted, albeit only by a small distance, stepping onto the transporter pad together.

Seven apprehensively rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to the dim green lighting, flickering in and out with the power surges. Behind her the Doctor shuddered. "I think this is even creepier than you described Ensign." Harry nodded mutely in agreement as he took in the piles of battered Borg corpses.

"Creepiness is not a quantifiable entity Doctor." Seven stated coldly.

Chakotay intervened, "We'll look for survivors." He pulled out his tricorder and headed towards a doorway. "The twenty Kamsians are in there."

"That is a Development Bay, where newly assimilated adults wait for their implants to mature." Seven informed him.

"Where do they put the kids?" asked Harry apprehensively, not sure if he wanted to know.

"In maturation chambers, the Borg children were in them, remember?"

"How could I forget?" He replied shakily.

"Let's just get on with it and get out of here." Chakotay remarked sharply.

"I concur." Seven mumbled as she climbed over limp bodies until her tricorder picked up three faint signals. "Here are the Tellerites Doctor."

The Doctor followed her and began more detailed scans. "They're barely alive, I'll need to take them to Voyager and come back." When Chakotay nodded he pulled out three transporter beacons and pinned them to the three listless bodies. "Voyager, four to beam up."

Chakotay shivered as a sudden nervous chill ran up his back. "How many more are we looking for Seven?"

"A Vulcan and two humans."

As Chakotay and Harry looked around closer to the transport site, Seven followed her readings for the humans and ventured further into the cube. Suddenly she saw them, one hanging out of a regeneration alcove, eyes blinking robotically and the other, a female, moved blindly and mindlessly with flailing, injured limbs. Cautiously she approached the less mobile male, his single unaltered blue eye staring at her penetratingly…

"Here's the Vulcan, she looks a little more stable…" Harry spoke of the half dead once Vulcan drone at his feet only to be interrupted by a piercing cry somewhere between a horrified scream and a panicky sob.

Chakotay's heart plunged in fear. "Seven…Seven!" He called in desperation, immediately setting off at a run in the direction of the cry.

He found her backed against a wall to such an extent shards of metal were piercing her back, pale as the drones around her and staring in petrified shock at the drone at the other wall. "Are you alright? Did it hurt you?" She didn't respond other than to utter a high pitched whimper. He followed her gaze and memories, not his own but hers left over from their link almost five years before, made everything clear. "Oh God…" he whispered as the reality sunk in. These words seemed to break the hold on Seven somewhat but her treacherous eyes only travelled as far as the female before she was hit again by shock and fear. Chakotay was ready this time and caught in his arms as she fell to her knees. "Whoa, honey…" He murmured in her ear as he tried to keep her conscious.

Harry came in to see them both collapsed on the floor, Seven sagging lifelessly against Chakotay. "Chakotay what the hell…"

He didn't look at him, just kept staring at the two drones. "They're…Seven's parents…"

**A/n: How am I going so far? Please review especially since this is a new fic!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure?" Harry asked Chakotay in tense wonder, staring at the two mangled, unrecognisable drones.

Chakotay, kneeling on the floor with Seven's lolling head in his lap, turned sharply to face him. "Don't you think Seven would know?"

Harry looked over guiltily at Seven's unconscious body. "Yes…of course she would, but what are the odds of that?"

"I've no idea." He said quietly; distracted as he felt Seven move, her eyes blinking blearily up at him in confusion. Not caring that Harry was with them he stroked her face tenderly. "You fainted my love, lie still…"

Seven's vision was unreliable, blurry and refusing to fully focus but she could make out Chakotay's distinctive dark eyes gazing down at her anxiously, a very wobbly smile crossing his features as he saw her awaken. His voice travelled over her, suddenly unnaturally loud yet distant and what he said didn't make sense, why had she fainted and where was she? He spoke again; she frowned at the effort for her brain to decipher his words and then wished she hadn't. "It's okay…I'll deal with this…" Deal with what? Suddenly her denial evaporated as soon as it had formed and nausea combined with hysterical panic overwhelmed her.

Chakotay saw her face go from pale to ashen grey as she remembered where she was, her hands clawing at his uniform, her breath coming in gasps of hyperventilation, her voice utterly gone. Chakotay made a snap decision and tapped his comm. badge so hard it hurt his chest. "Captain, you and the Doctor need to beam over here _now_."

"What's wrong?" asked the Captain, bemused concern evident in her tone, "The Doctor said everything was as we expected."

Harry opened his mouth to interject but Chakotay held his hand up to stop him, there was no need to exacerbate Seven's agony by broadcasting it all through Voyager. "Well it's not anymore, just trust me and get over here." He said through gritted teeth.

There was a short pause at her end before she replied, "We'll be there imminently." Within a minute, though it seemed more like an hour to both Chakotay and Harry, the Captain and the Doctor appeared in the familiar static field of the transporter, the Captain beginning to speak before she truly taken in the scene before her. "Chakotay, what…" Her eyes finally absorbed Seven lying limply on the floor and began to come forward. "Seven! What happened to her?"

When he saw that Chakotay couldn't or wouldn't immediately answer Harry replied shakily, "Seven's…her parents are here Captain…"

The Captain stopped dead in her tracks, head spinning round impossibly quickly, saw that Harry was serious and looked back to Chakotay. "The Hansens?" She whispered in awestruck disbelief. Chakotay nodded solemnly, no words could describe what he knew they were both feeling.

The Doctor took this as his cue and ran forward to attend to Seven. Peering into her stricken face with more sympathy than he'd ever felt for her, he pulled out a syringe and injected a drug into her neck. "I've sedated her." He said softly to no one in particular before turning to Harry. "Beam back to Voyager with her and make sure Lieutenant Paris keeps her unconscious until we return."

Harry glanced at the Captain who nodded distractedly as she cautiously approached the two drones who had caused all this turmoil. "Yes Doctor." He said quickly before calling Voyager for a transport and standing next to Seven as they both disappeared.

Chakotay felt a mixture of relief and separation anxiety as they left, but as he saw the Captain approach the male drone…Seven's father he shuddered at the thought, his voice returned to him. "What are we going to do?"

The Captain stretched out a hand and touched the drone's shoulder before she looked at Chakotay with flashing eyes. "Take them in of course." She said sharply, as if it was obvious.

"Of course?" Chakotay shot back in disbelief, worry for Seven overriding his pity of her parents.

The Captain sighed, "They're just as much innocent victims as Seven is…"

"Are they?" The Doctor snapped hotly. Chakotay swallowed back his reply, the Doctor's animosity for Seven's parents was a well known fact. It was a feeling he could well understand but couldn't afford to indulge in at this moment in time.

The Captain glared at the Doctor coldly. "Doctor, go and attend to the Kamsians."

"Captain, I…" He began to protest.

"You heard me." The Doctor resentfully scooped up his med kit and angrily left for the room holding the Kamsians. As the doors shut behind him, she turned to Chakotay, who rose from where he'd remained kneeling on the floor, and ran a hand through her hair. "Part of me understands how he feels Chakotay, but there can't be any room for resentment, just like when Seven came aboard…"

"How can you compare the situations? Think of Seven…" Chakotay said thickly, struggling against his voice as it grew louder from anger and fear.

"I am thinking of Seven! Yes, it'll be difficult for her at first but she'll benefit from it in the long run…and how do you think she'd feel if we left them here? We can't erase the meeting from her mind and she's had enough guilt…"

"Yes she has." Chakotay said quietly, he was perhaps the only one who truly knew how much. "It's also not fair to subject her to their expectations; she'll never be their little six year old girl…"

"I know, but sometimes cruelty comes hand in hand with kindness and all three of them will need to work through that." The Captain sighed again. "Let's go."

Seven woke with a gasp, finding herself staring up at Sickbay's ceiling. Twisting her head to the side she caught a glimpse of two lifeless Borg drones lying on the biobeds beside her own. She leaned over the edge and gave into her churning stomach until it was all she could do was dry heave. She was barely aware of Lieutenant Paris' and Chakotay's conversation as they attended to her, but eventually she could breathe again and immediately jumped off the biobed and tried to leave but Chakotay grabbed her arm gently but firmly. "Seven…" he started but she couldn't allow him to go any further, twisting away without looking at him.

"I must regenerate." She said shortly, disturbingly robotic to Chakotay's ears but in love and pity he let her go and she fled blindly.

"_Annika_!" The scream pierced her ears, her soul, but before the familiar dream got any further she mercifully jerked awake only to see the Captain standing in front of her alcove.

Almost subconsciously she swallowed. "Captain?" She tried to ask as naturally as possible but failed miserably.

The Captain looked up at her with sympathetic yet determined eyes. "The Doctor's going to try to wake them for a short time before he puts them in regeneration to recover. I think you need to come and see them."

"Why?" Seven asked, her voice harsh to hide the tearfulness.

"Why? Because they're your parents and they love you and need you." Do they? Do they need a woman who's genetically related to them but is a drone in every other respect? Noting her silence the Captain sighed sadly, "Don't make me make it an order Seven." If it was an order I'd ignore as I have many others, thought Seven in a strange detached anger. "Seven like it or not you're going to have to face them and it's better not to drag it out." The Captain cajoled. True, thought Seven in that same detached manner as she stepped from her alcove and walked to Sickbay.

Chakotay gave her a relieved, supportive smile as she stepped in but it was only a split second reprieve as she saw the two drones, she couldn't refer to them as anything else, lying on the biobeds, their faces now undeniably recognisable despite being fragmented by remaining implants and bandages. Had she once looked so drastic? The Doctor cleared his throat. "I'll wake…Mrs Hansen up first."

Doctor, Dr Hansen, Seven mentally corrected, Mama didn't like that to be forgotten. The childish remembrance frightened her and she fought the urge to bolt, stepping back until her spine hit Chakotay's soothing, restraining hand. She watched in morbid fascination as the stimulant drained into her mother's veins but jolted back in panic as she heard a strangled gasp which rapidly became a cry. "Where…where am I?" The voice was like a memory from a dream and Seven froze. "Magnus! Annika!" The woman screamed, beginning to thrash around violently as the Doctor, Tom and Harry struggled to hold her down. Her head twisted round, "Mag…" Her next scream halted as she saw Seven and she suddenly looked down at the cybernetics riddling her own body and uttered a single blood curdling scream and instantly fell into a dead faint.

Seven gulped convulsively before running from the room but only getting as far as the corridor before half collapsing. The memory of her mother's expression as she looked at her pressed down on her, fear, panic, revulsion, but no recognition, not even a flicker. Part of her was burned with hurt by this knowledge but an overwhelming almost heady relief washed over her. Chakotay touched her arm as both he and the Captain gazed into her face anxiously. "I think it was shock, she doesn't recognise you yet but she's ill…" The Captain explained.

Seven stared at the wall. "It would be counterintuitive for her to recognise me." She rationalised bluntly.

"That's not true, it's just…" Chakotay almost sounded as if he was pleading with her.

"When they wake, tell them their daughter is dead. Let them grieve."

"You don't mean that…" The Captain said desperately.

Seven said nothing more, just turned her back on them and left.

Chakotay sat in almost total darkness, Seven's last words of six hours before churning round and round in his head. He couldn't just leave her thinking like that…

Suddenly the door to his quarters opened and Seven ran in before stopping before him, her breathing laboured and her eyes glazed. He didn't ask her where she'd been, in fact no words were exchanged as he rose and embraced her and she immediately collapsed into violent, uncontrollable sobs.

**A/n: Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: I'm sorry I haven't updated anything since I completed "Lost and Found" on Monday but I've been ill. Please review to cheer me up.**

The hours ticked past as Seven lay curled up on Chakotay's couch, cocooned in his protective arms as every emotional wall she had created to block out the pain of her parents' return crumbled away. Eventually even crying was not an adequate release and she fell silent, her damp cheek resting on Chakotay's chest. The eerie silence disturbed Chakotay as much if not more than the sobs but he only softly brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear without speaking. Seven shivered and for a moment tightened her grip on his uniform before lifting her head and listlessly wiping her face, suddenly ashamed of taking advantage of his affection and allowing herself to act so hysterically. "I…I'm sorry that I'm reacting like this…you should not have to comfort…"

Chakotay cut her off, gently but firmly pulling her up by the shoulders to look at him. "Your reaction is perfectly normal! As for comforting you that is a privilege, it shows that you trust me and I'm glad of that okay?"

Seven looked into his serious, pleading eyes and nodded slowly, uttering a shaky sigh of relief. "What am I going to do?"

Chakotay, who had been avoiding talking of her previous statements outside Sickbay now decided to confront the issue. "You can't tell them their daughter is dead."

"Why not?" Seven flared angrily before sinking back into tearfulness. "Would it really be any less painful to have a Borg for a daughter than for her to be dead? I can't be who they want…"

Chakotay swallowed hard. "No, right now you can't be who they want, they'll need time to accept their situation but the love will still be there…"

Seven choked back a sob, "I don't love…" she started but couldn't go any further, since she knew that if she was indifferent, as part of her longed to be, she wouldn't be suffering so deeply.

Chakotay rubbed her back in understanding. "Being upfront _will_ be easier in the long run I promise. Whatever they've done…" his voice tightened momentarily, resentment over Seven's situation bubbling up within him, "…they don't deserve to have the truth hidden from them and you don't deserve the strain of hiding yourself."

Seven gulped and once again pressed herself against him, knowing that all the points he made were relevant and reasonable. "It would have been better if they had been freed instead of me…they would have never needed to learn to be human as I have…or if we…had been freed together, then I wouldn't have been alone…I never imagined this scenario…I never wanted this…"

"I know…it just isn't fair is it?" Chakotay murmured. She nodded in agreement and they fell back into their own thoughts.

The Doctor stood over the unconscious body of Magnus Hansen, a now useless implant hanging from his open back which the Doctor quickly extracted and laid it aside with many others to be disposed of. Suddenly he felt aware of someone's eyes on his back and twisted his head to see the Captain standing observing his work. "You're getting quick at that Doctor, I remember Seven took you days to…" she winced as she thought of the appropriate word. "…dismantle." She commented quietly.

"Well believe or not they're not as badly damaged as Seven was, rather than their link with the Collective being forcefully severed they were just disconnected, as the Borg children were. Nevertheless, it's probably going to take the rest of the night before I can restore them both fully."

The Captain sighed. "Then the real difficulty begins. What about the others?"

"The Tellerities didn't survive." He said with sorrow. "As you know the Kamsian government didn't desire my help but I told their doctors all I could. The Vulcan is progressing very well; I wish all my patients had Vulcan healing capabilities."

"Knowing them they'd think it was only logical." The Captain said wryly before her face once again became more serious. "Has Seven spoken to you?"

"No and she won't, not while I'm doing this anyway."

"Computer locate…" The Captain began but the Doctor stopped her.

"Just let her be. She's hopefully resting, as you should be at 0300 hours. We all have a big day tomorrow."

The Captain's eyes slid apprehensively over to Seven's parents. "You're right. Inform me when you're finished."

"Yes Captain." The Doctor replied, turning back to his patients as she left.

He desperately tried to stop the ship but the surface of the planet only grew larger and more inevitable with every button he pressed in the console. "Magnus!" Erin's frightened cry echoed in his ears just as he became aware of multiple transports and he whirled round to see several of what had been test subjects the day before and were now his greatest fear. He jolted back but they were too strong for Erin, grabbing her around the waist and injecting her with the nanoprobes which had so recently fascinated him. As he watched his wife crumple in pain he saw the petrified, frozen figure of his daughter, standing just outside her room and very much in danger.

"Annika run!" he shouted, the first words he'd spoken since the Borg had boarded. Thankfully she obeyed him, bolting out of sight like a young rabbit in the firing line. He had been so focused on her that he forgot himself and suddenly found a undeniable weight forcing him down onto his knees, he knew exactly what was happening but he prayed that Annika would somehow stay out of sight. Even that mercy was denied him as the nanoprobes surged through his bloodstream, his failing eyes catching sight of the little girl fighting valiantly with screams and kicks as she was dragged out from under the console.

"Papa! _Papa_!" Her horrible pleading shrieks rang in his ears but suddenly she fell silent and his head was filled with voices…

"Can you here me Dr Hansen?" said a singular female voice and his eyes fluttered open to see a serious looking woman in the dress of a Starfleet Captain.

"Where am I?" he asked blearily and the woman's face softened.

"You're on the U.S.S Voyager. I'm her commanding officer, Captain Kathryn Janeway."

"When did Starfleet get to the Delta Quadrant?" he asked in confusion before memories began to return. "The Borg…they took us to the Alpha Quadrant?"

"No…no, we're all still in the Delta Quadrant, it's a long story…"

He sat up, waving his hand dismissively, it didn't matter. It was then that he caught sight of the other person on the biobed and ran to her, his legs almost collapsing beneath him as he did so. "Be careful." Said a balding man he assumed by the uniform to be the Doctor but he ignored the advice entirely, stroking his wife's face, now blighted with implants.

"Oh Erin, Erin wake up…" He muttered fearfully. The Doctor helpfully stepped forward with a hypospray and the still familiar green eyes opened but she recoiled slightly at the sight of him.

"Magnus?" He nodded vigorously and she gasped. "Magnus, what happened?"

The Captain answered her. "We freed you from the Collective, you're individuals again."

A smile spread across Erin's features. "Oh Thank God, Magnus we've been saved! Where's Annika? She'll be frightened when she wakes up…"

Both the Captain and the Doctor swallowed. You have no idea, thought the Captain despairingly. "I don't know." Magnus answered before turning his head back to the Captain. "Where's our daughter? We need to see her."

"Sev…Annika wasn't with you." The Captain stated as gently as she could.

"What do you mean she wasn't with us? She's _always_ with us, she's only just turned six…" Erin said, her voice increasing in volume and pitch with every passing second.

The Captain shook her head and Magnus stood angrily, fists clenched. "Well we're just going to have to go back and get her because there's no way in hell I'm leaving her there with those…those…"

"It's too late for that." Said the Doctor quietly.

The couple both blanched. "What do you mean too late? How long has it been?" choked out Erin.

"Over twenty three years. It's Stardate 7710.3, 3rd of October 2377."

Erin buried her face into her hands, sobbing. "My baby…you can't be gone…"

Magnus' reaction was of a more violent nature. "That can't be! _You're lying_!" He shouted, seizing the Captain's arm.

"I'm not." She said as calmly as she could, despite the tears of pity forming in her own eyes. Tapping her comm. badge with her free hand she said, "Seven, please come to Sickbay."

Seven was standing outside Sickbay's door but it still took several minutes for her to follow the order. Shaking all over she carefully removed her hand from Chakotay's tight grasp and looked into his eyes for a moment for support before finally stepping inside.

**A/n: Please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

As Seven stepped into Sickbay, a place she had been in innumerable times but now the people that it contained made the whole room seem foreign, contaminated almost. Despite the fact that her own footsteps rattled unmistakably in her ears, her parents, no…the Hansens, for some reason even this paltry, mental show of distance made the situation more tolerable, didn't react at all just continued staring at the Doctor and the Captain in angered shock. "We can't have been Borg for that long, we'd remember!" Her father shouted into the Captain's face.

Seven registered the Captain's small sigh and her questioning turn towards the Doctor. "Why don't they remember their lives as drones Doctor? Seven…" The Captain thankfully cut herself off and looked down apprehensively.

"Their Borg memory cores seem to have been damaged, some regeneration would most likely correct it and besides their human memories are free to reassert themselves, it's a coping mechanism blocking out what you don't understand. Seven did the same thing with her human memories…" His voice lowered and took on a bitter tinge. "Not that she had much to remember…"

The Captain shook her head at him and Seven no longer had conversation to distract herself with, instead her eyes roamed wildly round the room, avoiding her parents with every bit of willpower she had but it proved futile. With most of their implants either removed or bandaged over and their faces undeniably lucid and questioning, her longing to bolt away intensified but traitorously her feet remained where they were as if she were tethered in place. She wasn't sure what had been occurring around her when the Captain sympathetic murmur of "Ahh Seven, you're here" finally alerted her parents to her presence. Two sets of distantly familiar eyes focused on her but she could only read a stranger's customary reaction to her, a mixture of repulsion and interest.

Captain Janeway's words made Erin Hansen turn to look at the new arrival, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression, stark silver metal scarring her otherwise attractive face, a trait she knew from looking at her own aged reflection they shared. Magnus always the more curious, spoke to the woman, wondering if she could offer any insight into their situation. "You are…was Borg too?"

"Yes." Seven responded robotically, her answer increasing the tension in the room ten fold.

Erin swallowed, tempted to ask this strange woman, who sounded as lifeless as the drones she had once studied, if she knew anything about Annika but her courage failed her and instead she asked, "Were you freed with us like that Vulcan?"

"No, Voyager liberated me over four years ago."

For some reason this statement didn't tally with Magnus and he suddenly experienced a blinding headache as an image forced itself into his brain. He was on a cube, the Queen's voice loud in his brain, "She must be assimilated, Seven of Nine must be reassimilated…" He'd moved forward, straight at the woman who stood before him now, but then her expression had been far from stoic, in fact the fear and, yes, the grief in her eyes had been horribly vivid. Why? "I saw you, you weren't liberated…you were with the Queen…" he muttered in confusion.

Seven couldn't stop her body from shivering in nervous fear. "Yes…the Queen did attempt to coerce me to return…" she whispered, almost stuttering as the words fought formation.

"Why…why did she use me?" He asked bluntly, freezing her to the spot with his confused, frustrated gaze.

The Captain shot Seven a desperate look, hoping that she would end this round of torture herself but she was obviously quite beyond that, jaw set and limbs jerking with shudders. "They used you Dr Hansen because you're her father…" she said quietly.

His head snapped round to her. "Excuse me?" The Captain bit her lips as she nodded heavily and his gaze whirled back round to Seven in disbelief, looking at her afresh. No, there was no denying it, despite everything there was no mistaking her. "Annika?" he choked out, relief that she was alive overwhelming him, washing all his previous assumptions away.

Relief was the opposite of what Seven was feeling, she felt sick, numb and terrified as she leaned heavily on the biobed beside her to hold herself upright. Before she knew what was happening her mother was beside her, peering at her daughter's ashen, paralysed face. "Annika what's wrong? What's happened to you?" she asked desperately, disturbed by distant, dead expression on Seven's face.

"I was assimilated." She told her mother with in a harsh monotone, her eyes constantly shifting so that Erin couldn't meet them.

Taken aback by the tactless bluntness of the statement but nonetheless fully aware of its truthfulness, Erin felt her eyes brim with tears. "I…I know that now baby but…we're back with you now…" She laid her hand on Seven's human arm in an attempt at a comforting gesture but Seven pulled violently away as if she'd been burned, nostrils flaring like a cornered wild animal.

Don't touch me! Seven's mind howled as she staggered further back from them, using all her self control to stop herself from vocalising the thought. This was all too real… Why did this have to happen?

Magnus registered his wife's hurt expression but Annika's rejection didn't sink in, he just stared at her in wonder. "Annika, I'm sorry we didn't recognise you…but you've changed so much…" He gulped hard, still struggling to equate his gentle natured six year old with the extreme reactions of this adult woman. He recollected himself, "Your mother's right, everything's going to be fine now…"

Seven fought the sudden urge to laugh which quickly descended to tearfulness as all the hurt, resentment and grief boiled over. _No_. She would _not_ cry in front of these strangers who obviously had no understanding of events… "_Fine_?" A strange voice she eventually recognised as her own edged out through gritted teeth. "I highly doubt this situation is within the parameters of _fine_." She stated with determined iciness. They just stared at her dumbly and she snapped, her eyes lifting up to finally meet theirs, aflame with the burning embers of resentment and pain. Her voice, shaky and weak now as her panicked lungs heaved with effort, whispered through her lips. "You're…you're _never_ going to understand are you?" She waited for a split second but no response came and she turned with unnatural agility on her heels and bolted from Sickbay.

"Annika! Annika, _wait_!" Erin shrieked at the closed door, twisting round to her husband who now had his head in his hands and was shaking badly. "Magnus we can't just let her go like that!" she exclaimed angrily.

"Oh and what do you suggest we do?" he retorted. "Drag her back on her hands and knees? She's not a child having a tantrum…not anymore…" This comment made Erin collapse into tears.

Chakotay had been listening discreetly outside the door, his blood boiling and turning icy cold by turns as he listened to the exchanges. Suddenly Seven appearing through the door like a fleeing horse and he had the presence of mind to seize her shoulders and bring her to halt. For a moment she panicked further until she realised who it was and began to sag against him as if the stuffing had been knocked out her. "They…they find me repellent until…until the Captain informs them and then they expect me to…to…" She choked out, beginning to let herself cry in earnest now that she was with a confidante.

Chakotay's grip around her tightened, relieved when she allowed herself to lean on him as she belatedly finished her sentence, "…to act as if…nothing had happened…as if the intervening twenty three years were irrelevant…" Anger and frustration blocked his normally eloquent words of comfort, he doubted whether any existed, it was all he could do to hold her and silently kiss her hair and face.

**A/n: Please review! I'm not sure whether this chapter is up to par…**

**My faithful reviewer Sweetdeath04 has published her first C/7 fic, yay! It's a C/7 spin on the aftermath of the events in "Workforce." It's called "Prelude" and I love it, please read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

At first the Doctor attempted to ignore Seven's mother's hysterical sobbing, her father's disturbingly silent withdrawal, but eventually it began to get to him and he turned to the woman. "Would you like a sedative?" he asked politely, hypospray in hand.

Erin's head jolted up, green eyes bitter and tear washed. "No! How do you think that would help?"

"It would perhaps settle your nerves a little, either way you're both doing to have to complete a full regeneration cycle before I can certify you as medically fit…"

The Captain, who had been standing silently in shadows ever since she'd informed them of Seven's existence, now spoke up. "They'll have to go to Cargo Bay 2 then?" she asked softly, at the Doctor's nod she called out to the computer. "Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

"Seven of Nine is in Commander Chakotay's quarters." For a moment Janeway was intrigued but it was quickly taken over by relief that she was in the capable hands of the ship's unofficial counsellor rather than holed up, alone and brooding, in the Cargo Bay.

She tapped her comm. badge. "Icheb, we need your assistance in Sickbay please."

"On my way Captain." He quickly responded and she cautiously approached the Hansens, racking her brain with what to say.

"I know you're both upset right now but I need to follow the Doctor's advice and then we'll talk about what we're going to do…"

Magnus stared straight past her at some unidentified section of bulkhead before suddenly saying in a listless tone of voice, "Why do you keep referring to her as "Seven"? That's a number…" His voice became progressively more angry and irrational, "…a Borg designation not a name!"

Janeway and the Doctor exchanged apprehensive looks. That question seemed to personify this whole tragic situation and the Captain decided to sidestep the crux of the issue for now. "It was her decision when she came aboard…I'll explain everything I promise but it's not such a good idea at the moment…" Icheb's arrival in Sickbay saved her from digging a bigger hole for herself and she smiled as she introduced him. "This is Icheb, he's going to take you to Cargo Bay 2 to regenerate and after that we'll talk okay?"

Magnus's eyes shifted round the three strangers, the curious, pitying face of _another_ former Borg, the air of controlled desperation from Captain Janeway, the thinly veiled hostility of the Doctor and felt a sudden need to be out of this room with all its intolerable recent associations. Without a word he took a snivelling Erin firmly in hand and followed the young Borg out the door.

Icheb walked several paces in front of them down the hallway, mind racing. He knew they would not meet Seven, being the only person on the ship who was fully aware of her relationship with Commander Chakotay, and was deeply relieved. They had never discussed her attitude to her own parents, but he knew her well enough to know that her turmoil would be extreme, as he assumed her parents' was from their pale, drawn faces. Suddenly he became aware of Seven's mother addressing him. "Were you freed with Annika?" she asked in wobbly fretful tone, almost as if she was fearful of him.

Annika? Oh yes, that was Seven's former designation. "No, I was liberated by Seven with the help of the Voyager crew nineteen months ago."

"Are there any more of you? Former drones I mean?" Seven's father asked brusquely.

"No, until yesterday there was only Seven and myself. Three other Borg children were freed with me but they returned to their families."

"And you didn't?" asked Erin, her voice high and strained.

"No, my parents genetically modified me to kill Borg, they attempted to send me back to the Collective but Seven rescued me."

They fell into mortified silence. Finally Erin whispered, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I understand now that they were desperate…Seven is a much more effective guardian anyway." He replied, unaware that his reply had shocked them even more. If he can forgive that, why does Annika shut us out? "We're here." He stated, suddenly stopping outside of an intimidating pair of doors and opening them. The desolate nature of the place was absolute, a cavernous place littered with crates and the disturbingly familiar row of alcoves against one wall.

"Annika _lives_ here?" exclaimed Magnus in disbelieving indignation.

"It serves as our quarters yes." Icheb replied, unsure why his reaction was so violent. "I will calibrate alcoves for you." He stepped forward and began to dial into the respective control panels.

"_No_! There is no way I'm going anywhere near one of those…" Erin cried out in agitation, attempting to drag Magnus back out of the room with her.

Icheb finished his task and turned back to them. "I'm sure you know that it is necessary to maintain proper implant function. It is quite painless and apparently similar to REM sleep."

Magnus wanted to deny that but looking down at his metal riddled hand he knew it was pointless. "We understand. Please leave us."

Icheb dipped his head. "Of course." He murmured courteously before quickly taking his leave.

Erin glared at her husband. "You…you expect me to…"

His eyes flared, "No. No, I don't expect _anything _anymore. I expected to return to Earth many years ago with useful research, I expected to raise my daughter…what's the point of _expecting_ anything?" he shouted before abruptly stepping into the alcove and allowing it to claim his mind. Erin stared at him in angered shock for a moment, gulping hard in an effort to control herself, before the side of her affected by her assimilation told her it was pointless to resist and resentfully she too entered an alcove, but if either of them expected peace they were mistaken, in fact memories of those old fateful decisions immediately reclaimed them.

She hurriedly followed Dr Carter as he led her expertly through the maze of halls to the new exobiology lab. She couldn't believe she was actually here to research, in Gothenburg University of all places, one of the most highly respected science campuses on Earth! It was almost as thrilling as her first day at Cambridge… Her thoughts stopped in her tracks as Dr Carter stopped outside a door an opened it to reveal a small lab, despite its size it was the most advanced lab she'd ever seen but it wasn't unoccupied, a man was hunched over a microscope, so ignorant of their presence it bordered on rude. "Magnus!" Dr Carter called out to him in irritation.

The man whirled around angrily in his seat to reveal an unexpected sight. He was young, in his late twenties like her and undeniably handsome, tall and lithe with short cropped ash blonde hair which accentuated his strong facial structure. His blue eyes flashed at Carter. "I'm busy Jack, can't your meetings wait?" As his eyes shifted to her the fire distinctly left his eyes.

Carter laughed. "If you'd been to one of those meetings you may have already become acquainted with the newest member of our exobiology faculty but as it is…" He indicated her, "This is Dr Erin Davis, don't scare her off with your eccentric theories on her first day. Erin, this is Dr Magnus Hansen."

Erin, now smiling at Magnus's humiliation, stepped forward. "Charmed." She said, extending her hand.

He took her hand firmly. "A pleasure doctor, where did you study?"

"Cambridge."

A mischievous glint appeared in his eye as a smile crossed his features. "Oxford." He replied.

Dr Carter smiled knowingly, seeing the writing on the wall as they kept hold of their handshake. "I'll see you later then." They both nodded in acknowledgement and he left them to it.

Erin peered at the microscope which had so fascinated him a few moments before. "What are these eccentric theories then Doctor?"

He snorted but couldn't hide his boyish excitement. "It's not a theory anymore, look in the scope."

Erin looked at him quizzically but took up the offer nonetheless. "It's only blood, Romulan perhaps, what's so exciting about that?"

"Look closer." He prompted.

She did, increasing the focus before practically jumping back in shock. "Is that_ metal_ combined with the blood?"

He beamed gleefully. "It's the first proven blood sample from a Borg corpse. It was found near their border with the Tzenkethi."

"And how did you get a hold of that? Even if the Borg's very existence wasn't speculative, how you get the Romulans to hand it over?"

He looked sheepish for a moment. "I bought it from a Ferengi…"

"You're joking! It could all be fabricated…"

"No! It's only the latest in my catalogue of evidence!" He exclaimed passionately and Erin could tell he believed it and for a moment she allowed herself to also.

"If they do exist, it would be the biggest breakthrough for at least a century, not only in exobiology but in medicine and sociology too…" she murmured, her eyes alight at the possibility.

He suddenly grabbed her hands. "I know, that's why I'm going to go look for them…"

"The Council of Sciences would never give you sanction for that let alone funding…"

"It might take me a couple of years but I'll do it, you'll soon learn that I never give up…"

She cut him off. "I think I can see that already." She murmured softly.

Erin paced around the open plan living space that made up the bulk of their quarters for the tenth time before giving up and sinking into the window seat, gazing out at the bird's eye view of Gallia as Deep Space Six continued its orbit but her thoughts were far away. Why did this have to happen now, a spanner in the works just as three years of work finally seemed to be coming to fruition? Oh God, how would Magnus take it? He always hated any change of plans…

Just then he bounded in, looking like a kid in a candy shop. "Erin, I finally got the shielding to work, now all we need to do is find a ship and we can go…"

She'd better just come out with it. "We can't…not right now…"

"Why not?" he interrupted, "Did something go wrong with your simulations?"

"No." She rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "It's nothing to do with that. I'm…I'm pregnant Magnus."

He dropped the padd he was holding. "With a baby?"

"Yes, with a baby!" she exclaimed in tearful exasperation. The next thing that happened shocked her as he burst out laughing, lifted her out the chair and twirling her in the air.

"We're going to have a baby!" he cried out joyfully as they spun but then took notice of his wife's pale face. "What's wrong?"

"I feel sick, put me down."

He looked more nervous than she'd ever seen him when he lowered her carefully down to the ground. "Better?" he asked anxiously.

Erin felt tears burn at her eyes. "Oh Magnus all that work for nothing…"

He looked at her in concern. "What do you mean? We may have to delay a couple of years but we won't be the first couple to take a child along for the ride…"

She looked up at him. "Really?"

"Of course honey, don't worry so much it's not good for the baby."

She smiled in relief before hitting him lightly on the arm. "Don't you lecture me! What sort of biologist asks if pregnancy means a baby? What other sort is there?"

He laughed indignantly. "It was a slip of the tongue, I was shocked…"

"Yeah right." She replied as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Are you sure we can't just wait?" Erin asked as Magnus parked the car in front of her family home.

"Erin, they're _your _parents and all they want is to see their granddaughter. We've already waited three months to come see them. It won't be that bad."

"It's alright for you, Dad will just pour you a drink and talk about golf or something while Mum corners me about what we're going to do."

Magnus leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Just be honest. They don't have the right to judge." With that parting remark he climbed out the car, went to the back and lifted out the carry cot.

"That doesn't mean they don't think they have the right." Erin muttered before climbing out to join her husband and baby. The familiar figure of her father, retired Starfleet captain Edward Davis, immediately ran to them as if he'd been waiting.

"Erin!" he called out cheerily as he enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Hi Dad." She replied as he quickly shook hands with Magnus before being captivated by the new little face that peered out from beneath multiple blankets and knelt down to her, his face melting.

"So this is Annika is it?" he asked hypothetically as he reached in. "Hi there poppet, I've been waiting a long time for you." He cooed happily as the half asleep baby gazed at him nonchalantly. "Come in, come in." He pestered when he'd had his fill and guided them into the house where his wife was waiting.

After indulging the baby for several minutes she looked at Erin. "So it took you three days to name her and three months to bring her to see us?"

Magnus felt Erin bristle beside him on the couch and interceded. "Well as you know Belinda, picking a baby's name is hard work…"

"Is it?" she responded icily.

Edward interrupted, not wanting the rancour between his wife and his son-in-law to build up once again. "Yes I know, why don't you come and help me fish out a decent wine vintage for dinner Magnus?"

"Erin isn't drinking right now Edward…"

"Oh I know, I wouldn't let her but that doesn't mean we can't." He replied meaningfully. With a glance back at his wife Magnus left the room with his father-in-law.

Belinda sat primly at the edge of her seat as she spoke. "So what was so important at Deep Space Six that you couldn't get away to show off your baby?"

Erin sighed, she had known this was coming. "We don't work at Deep Space Six anymore, we left last month."

Her mother's mouth fell open slightly. "What? After all the strings your father pulled to get those jobs you leave? What happened?"

Erin's back straightened defensively. "Magnus and I were struck off the Council of Sciences."

Belinda stood bolt upright. "What? After ten years of work to get accredited you're disqualified! What the hell did you do to warrant…" She paused in anger as realisation hit her. "It's that Borg scheme of his again isn't it?" she snapped accusingly. Erin's face brought truth to the statement. "My God Erin, I thought having a baby would finally get that pipe dream out of your heads…"

"It's not a pipe dream Mother!" Erin retorted hotly. "We've proved that we can do it…"

"Oh and what's Annika going to do while her parents are off gallivanting?"

"She'll come with us! I'm not leaving her at some school like you did with me…"

"Your father and I had very dangerous occupations! If you do this you'll be putting that child in mortal danger…"

"How dare you suggest that we would risk that? She'll be perfectly safe…"

"Don't delude yourself Erin. One of these days you're going to wake up and realise that chasing a pointless dream has created a nightmare, you mark my words!"

The shouting match raging around her proved too much for baby Annika and she began to howl, her mother taking the chance to take her and flee up to her old bedroom where she sat with the now settled baby in her arms when there was a knock at the door. "Go away!" she called only to meet her father's face. "I'm sorry Daddy I thought you were…"

"I know. The neighbours could hear that argument." He commented wryly as he sat down beside her on the bed.

Erin had the grace to blush glancing down at Annika with a sigh. "_We're_ never going to argue like that are we angel?" she murmured gently.

Edward laughed. "Don't count your chickens sweetheart, this little one doesn't exactly talk back yet does she?"

"We'll see."

"Yes…listen Erin don't be too hard on your mother, she just worries…" He was interrupted by Magnus, who now stood in the doorway.

"You ready to go now?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Erin replied conclusively before giving her father a quick peck. "Bye Dad, I'll see you soon okay?" she said politely before letting Magnus help her out the door and back to the car.

"What was all that about?" Magnus finally asked when they were well away.

"She was trying to convince me that we're doing the wrong thing."

"And did she?"

Erin cast him a determined look. "No, quite the opposite."

It was then that her memories let go of Erin Hansen and she practically fell out the alcove as tears began to shake her. How could all that hope and promise have turned so wrong? She looked out at the bleak lonely darkness of the Cargo Bay and her mother's now strangely prophetic words rang true, she had woken up in a nightmare, one that embroiled not only herself and Magnus but their daughter as well.

**A/n: Whoa, almost three thousand words! I hope the flashbacks weren't a boring self indulgence but I enjoyed writing them! Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: Just to make clear when this story is set, basically six months after "Endgame" if Admiral Janeway had never come so Neelix isn't there and Miral is a six month old baby. Also the scenes from recordings are in **_italics_.

Magnus woke from his regeneration cycle with a violent jolt, hyperventilating and covered in a cold sweat as he struggled to force the memories back. After a few horrible seconds of complete disorientation the now familiar sound of his wife's grief stricken sobbing brought him back to reality and he reluctantly turned to where she sat crouched in the foetal position at the foot of her alcove. "Erin, did you have flashbacks?" he asked her cautiously as he approached her with pained, wary eyes.

She nodded heavily against her knees. "My mother, everyone who warned us, they were right…" she groaned before looking at him with sudden hate filled anger. "Why did you have to pursue this?"

His fist clenched into a tight ball as he responded in the same tone, "I don't remember you complaining!" Both of them fell silent, realising that lashing out at each other escalated the grief rather than eased it. Magnus's eyes roamed the room for a distraction, finally picking out a computer console near the door and he headed towards it with a single-minded determination.

"What are you doing?" Erin asked, unable to keep an accusatory tone from her voice.

Fixated, he didn't turn around. "Learning all I can about this ship, I don't like the idea of being led around the truth by the Federation."

The beep of Chakotay's comm. badge near her ear lifted the veil of stupor from Seven and she moved her head from his chest back to the bed so he could respond to B'Elanna who asked, "Chakotay, did you arrange relief engineering staff for when we start the biometric overhaul tomorrow?"

Chakotay allowed himself the release of a deep sigh before answering in a stilted tone, "I'll get right on it Lieutenant."

"Great thanks. Torres out."

Chakotay rolled onto his side to face Seven. "I'm sorry my love, I can't put this off. Stay here as long as you want."

Seven sat up, slowly to appease her thumping headache, and affectionately stroked his cheek. "I understand, don't worry." He looked far from convinced and she had enough spark left in her to shoot him a wry look. "I'll find something to occupy myself."

Just then her own comm. badge sprang into life. "Ensign Wildman to Seven of Nine."

"Yes Ensign?" Seven asked politely, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"Naomi's asking if you're still going to do a science class with her today, I explained your situation to her, if you don't feel up to it…"

Seven felt relief wash over her, a non taxing activity which would protect her from prying eyes! "No Ensign, I'm very willing to teach today. Have her meet me in the Mess Hall at…" She consulted her internal clock had realised it was now well into the afternoon, she'd spent most of the day wallowing. "…1500 hours. Seven out." She flung a relieved looking Chakotay a glance over her shoulder, "See?"

He pulled her up into a standing position and hugged her. "It's great." He said softly.

Seven rested her chin on his shoulder before kissing him gently. "Thank you Chakotay." In response he returned the kiss and they then walked out of his quarters separately.

Erin ran her fingers through her newly restored hair, now more silver than the gold she remembered and glanced at a now completely healed, excluding of course the essential implants, Magnus on the opposite biobed. As a way to break the silence, this Doctor didn't seem to be one from amiable conversation, she commented, "It's so strange to think that I'm fifty eight years old now and my last birthday party was my thirty fifth…"

The Doctor's hackles rose and he said snidely, "Then imagine what it must feel like to go from six to twenty four with over eighteen years as a mindless drone in between."

Erin winced. "I wasn't comparing myself with…" she started tearfully.

"And you'd better not start!" The Doctor snapped in warning.

"You're out of line! Surely you must know that we're in hell right now…" Magnus retorted angrily.

The Doctor gave a contemptuous snort. "I had kindly supposed you had grown out of your selfishness and were finally putting Seven's feeling above your own but I was obviously wrong…"

Magnus saw red and leapt from the biobed, ready to send the Doctor into holographic oblivion. "What the hell gives you the right to accuse us…"

The Doctor didn't back down, so wound up now that his sense of rational was absolutely gone. "I have the right because I removed the implants that were slowly killing her! I have the right because I've seen her crippled by flashbacks and hallucinations! She's had to be taught _everything_! The most basic of social courtesy, compassion, even how to _eat_ for God's sake…"

The Captain's entrance interrupted his rant, the Hansens' faces a mixture of livid anger and horrified shock. "Doctor, what is the meaning of this?" she asked incredulously.

The Doctor was unrepentant. "There were some things they needed to hear."

"_I'll _be the judge of that." She replied coolly before turning to the Hansens. "Crewman Buxton is outside, get him to take you to my ready room and I'll join you in a couple of minutes."

Magnus looked ready to refuse but Erin, shaken by the Doctor's words, took his arm pleadingly and they left without another word being exchanged, either in anger or apology.

The Captain stood directly in front of the Doctor. "Whatever you said, whether you believe they need to hear it or not, does not help them or Seven in _any _way. I expect you to treat them in a professional and civil manner, is that understood?" she rebuked in a forceful whisper.

The Doctor stood in a resistant posture but responded perfunctorily, "Yes Captain."

"Good." She stated before making her way to her ready room to face a conversation she dreaded.

She walked into her ready room to see the Hansens sitting as far apart as possible behind her desk and unable to come up with a greeting she approached the replicator. "Coffee, black. Do you want anything?"

Erin spoke for both of them. "No, thank you Captain."

Picking up her mug Janeway finally joined them at the desk. "Now I assume you'd like to hear about how on Earth a Federation ship got this far into the Delta Quadrant?"

Magnus frowned at her slightly. "We know about the alien, the Caretaker, we've done some research on this ship since we finished regenerating."

Janeway smiled. "I should have expected that, Seven…Annika would have done the same."

Erin's lips curled bitterly. "It seems that if you said that to her she'd argue."

The Captain drew back into her chair. "Don't take what the Doctor said to heart, he's just…been at the sharp end of Seven's learning curve."

"A learning curve is it?" Magnus muttered.

Janeway tactfully ignored the comment. "Annika came here when we created…"

"An alliance with the Borg, we know. She wasn't helpful, your First Officer attempted to suck her out into space…" Erin began angrily.

"Yes well, Chakotay was in a difficult situation… Do you know what happened after we disconnected her?"

"No." They mumbled in unison.

The Captain turned the screen on her desk to face them before wondering at the wisdom of her decision as she called up the old video of Seven's captivity in the Brig. "There's something you need to see." They nodded with slow fearfulness and she activated the tape.

_Seven braced herself against the cell's wall. "Release me!" she shouted at the guard but as he ignored her she suddenly ran at him, thudding painfully against the forcefield, falling back and manically throwing herself against it over and over again._

_The panicked guard made a call and suddenly Janeway appeared. "Please stop that. You have nothing to fear."_

"_Return this drone to the Collective NOW!"_

"_I'm sorry I can't do that. You're human, you don't belong with the Collective, you belong here with us."_

"_Humanity is irrelevant."_

"_No, no it's not. They stole it from you, now it's time for you to have it back."_

"_IRRELEVANT! This drone cannot function alone. It must be returned!"_

"_I'll lower the forcefield and come in, then you won't be alone."_

"_I'll kill you."_

"_I don't think you will." The Captain stepped into the Brig and Seven began pacing like a trapped animal._

"_One mind, one voice, weak and irrelevant. Function is impossible for us alone."_

"_You're wrong. You were once as human as I am, her name was Annika Hansen…"_

_Seven stared at her blankly for a moment before fear and anger seemed to take over and she launched herself at the Captain, grabbing her by the throat as she snarled, "Irrelevant! We are Borg! WE ARE BORG!" The Captain somehow wrenched herself free and Seven collapsed to the floor, cowering and clutching her head…_

"Turn it off!" Erin finally croaked out, her head twisted away from the screen.

Magnus gulped repeatedly before looking Janeway directly in the eye. "Captain I think from now on anything we learn about our daughter comes from her alone, not from strangers or..."

"I respect that but she may not tell you." The Captain warned.

He stood up. "So be it." He muttered, guiding Erin to the door before turning back. "Captain has anyone ever called you selfish for stranding your ship here on principle?" He asked pointedly.

The Captain flinched, not enjoying being put in the same category as them. "Not recently." She finally replied. They left and after thinking for a moment she called Chakotay to come to her.

Chakotay stepped apprehensively into the ready room, unsure what he was in for this time and Kathryn's face didn't give anything away. "Yes Captain?"

She sighed. "I've just had a talk with the Hansens…"

"How did they seem?" He asked, attempting to keep his face as neutral as the question.

"I don't think they'll open up to me. I was thinking you might have more luck."

Chakotay almost choked. "You want _me _to counsel _them_?" She nodded in a considered fashion but he couldn't exhibit the same control in his answer. "_No_! Captain, I just can't do it."

"Come now Chakotay, I wasn't expecting you to be judgemental, you've always been able to see both sides."

"Not where this is concerned!" He stopped for a second to calm himself. "I would be breaking a confidence Kathryn."

"With Seven? This is all for her sake…"

"Is it?" He muttered accusingly, remembering Seven crying herself to sleep in his arms.

She frowned at him. "You're as bad as the Doctor. You're not really protecting her you know…"

Chakotay felt himself snap. "And what have you been doing? Destroying all she's built up…you don't care about her, I love her…"

The Captain felt as if she'd been slapped. "You what? You _love_ her?"

Chakotay began to realise what he'd just done but his heart couldn't backtrack. "Yes, I do and she loves me."

The Captain stared at him for a few moments before robotically tapping her comm. badge. "Captain Janeway to Seven of Nine, come to my ready room."

**A/n: Please review! **

**I haven't forgotten about my other fics but this chapter just had to be written!**


	7. Chapter 7

"…and when the magma comes out of the volcano…"

"Erupts. Erupts from the volcano." Seven corrected, though more gently than she would have done for anyone other than Naomi.

"When the magma _erupts_ from the volcano, it's then called lava." Naomi persevered, her eyes not moving from the geology textbook spread on the table. "Ash can be blown so high into a planet's atmosphere that it can partly block out the sun and change the weather. The categories of volcanoes are active, extinct and dormant… Seven what's dormant mean?"

"Inactive for a long period of time. In the case of volcanoes it can be thousands of years."

"Whoa, scary. Wait, how come people live on them when they don't know when they're going to go off?" asked Naomi curiously.

"When lava on certain planets, like Earth, Vulcan and Ktaria for example, cools it can make the land around it very fertile so they take the risk although humanoids having been studying them for years to be able to predict their actions. Those people are called volcanologists."

Naomi's face lit up, "My grandpa…my Ktarian grandpa is one of those, Mom told me!"

"Well Ktaria is very geologically active, it is a good profession. I believe you may have inherited his proficiency for it." Seven complimented.

Naomi beamed at the praise and moved to continue but caught the distant expression on Seven's face and reconsidered, twisting the straw in her lemonade uneasily. "Seven, your mom and dad are here right?"

Seven's hands moved from their relaxed posture on the table to a tightly clenched position in her lap, obviously nothing was going to serve as a distraction for long, still the child had a right to be curious. "Yes they are." She finally answered.

"Are they nice like you and Icheb?" asked Naomi, her clear eyes cautious despite their youth.

Seven struggled with the question more than she knew she ought, if only it were that simple! "They are…finding it difficult to adapt to their new circumstances…but they will not harm you."

"I knew that." She replied simply before changing the subject with the speed only children could master. "You know how Neelix and Dexa are expecting a baby? Well Neelix told me that if it's a girl it's middle name will be Naomi like me!"

Seven hid her relieved expression with a wobbly smile aimed in the child's direction. "I can think of nothing more apt."

"They're going to find out what it is today but I can't call them right away because everyone's calling Earth today…" Naomi continued.

Had it already been a month since the last contact with the Federation? Yes it must be, that would explain all the frenzied activity in the Mess Hall, the air of excitement she had been oblivious to. Suddenly she felt desperate to get out of there, they could conduct classes somewhere else… It was then that she glanced at the door and saw her drastically altered parents stepping inside, now appearing more human than Borg, with full but greying heads of hair and civilian clothing. Their eyes scanned the room, for her no doubt and she tried to rise from the table with such speed that her knees thudded painfully against the legs and she had to stay where she was, marooned and defenceless against their approach.

Her father laid his wide metal scarred hand on the table, looking at his daughter and the unknown girl beside her for a moment before slowly speaking. "Hi…" he paused, thinking better of calling her Annika when he saw her if not exactly hostile but frozen and unreadable expression. "What are you doing?"

Naomi, seeing Seven's well known defensive posture, spoke up for her. "Seven's teaching me about volcanoes."

Erin sat down on the edge of the bench, looking at the girl, who reminded her painfully of Annika, the _real_ one she'd known, with a soft smile. "Really that's really interesting. What's your name?"

"Naomi Wildman." She replied.

"Well Naomi, when I was a little older than you my parents took me to Hawaii and there's a volcano there that erupts all day, the island just keeps growing with it, it's beautiful!" Naomi nodded in interest but Magnus interrupted, his gaze on Seven.

"I didn't know your speciality was geology Annika. Your grandmother loved that sort of thing…"

"It's not my speciality but some had to teach Naomi." Said Seven, coldly cutting him off.

Naomi frowned at him. "Your speciality was Borg right?"

"In a way…we're exobiologists, they study all kinds of life…" Erin began awkwardly.

Magnus though took an unapologetic stance. "Yes, we studied Borg, it was our life's work and we learned a great deal…"

Seven slammed the textbook shut with a dull thud. "It is not an advisable field of study Naomi." She saw a muscle in her father's jaw jump, the movement exacerbated by the metal webbing which lined his right jawbone, but he remained silent, if not happily so. Seven ignored him and turned to Naomi, "Our class is complete for today, you have done well. It is mathematics tomorrow, remember to do the homework I set you."

"Okay Seven." She said quietly, turning to the Hansens to utter an awestruck "Bye" before running off.

Unavoidably now Seven had to bring her attention back to her parents. Quickly realising that they weren't going to leave her alone, she grasped around for a way to make them. Suddenly it hit her and her head whipped round to her sullen father. "Do you wish to speak to Irene Hansen?"

Stunned by this out of the blue proposal, they both stared at her. "My sister Irene? I can do that?" asked Magnus, desperate to hear from an ally.

"Yes." Seven replied bluntly, rising and indicating for them to follow her which they immediately did.

The walk to Astrometrics was no a long one but it seemed that why to all involved. Seven jumped when Erin touched her arm. "Can I speak to my parents?" she asked in a near whisper.

"They're dead." Seven responded automatically, before the pathetic turn in her mother's face rammed guilt into her heart, even she knew that had been insensitive, the Doctor was right she _did _need to practice tact. In an attempt to compensate she clarified, "Belinda Davis died ten years ago, in her sleep, the Admiral a year later…he was given a full military funeral…"

Erin smiled dejectedly, through the cloud of shock. "That's what he wanted…" Magnus gave her hand a squeeze but his own heart lightened slightly when he caught the concern which flickered across Annika's face as she turned away and stepped into Astrometrics.

He gazed around the room as Annika went straight to what he assumed, in this strange room, was a console. "This can't be all Federation…" he muttered in awe.

"It's not, it uses a great deal of Borg technology, don't you recognise it?" Seven asked without looking at him.

"Yes, I suppose." He murmured, it was familiar in a way. "Did _you_ design this?" he asked in surprise.

"Myself and Ensign Kim…" she trailed off as her aunt's face appeared on the screen and her parents gasped.

"Magnus? Erin?" Irene gaped in confusion, before looking at Seven, "How did you…"

"We found them, they are no longer Borg." Seven replied.

Irene gave a happy sob, hand over her mouth. "I can see that, I can't believe it!"

"Did you give up on us Irene?" murmured Erin, somewhat bitterly as Seven retreated against the wall.

Irene stiffened. "It wasn't like that…but there wasn't much hope…" As she said that she saw a deeply unsettled looking Annika retreat to near the doors and felt a stab of pity for her niece, whom she knew through their limited conversations, knew almost nothing.

Magnus looked at his sister in confusion. "You've aged so much Rini…" he murmured, using an old family pet name for his twin.

"I know but so have you, no one's called me Rini since Papa died…" Her brother's face darkened and she realised he didn't know their father had died.

Seven, feeling so awkward she wished the ground would swallow her, had never been so relieved to hear the Captain's voice, "Seven of Nine, come to my ready room." She turned on her heel to go but her mother stopped her.

"Annika, I don't think you should go at a time like this…"

Irene saw the hostility and intervened. "On you go dear, it sounds important. Your parents and I have things to discuss anyway." Seven threw her aunt such a grateful look that Erin felt violently jealous of her sister in law as her daughter bolted from her.

Kathryn sat tense in her chair like a cat ready to pounce. "For how long?" she asked icily.

"Six months." Chakotay admitted, not seeing the point in hiding it any longer but hoping Seven would be delayed so he could handle it.

"Six months?" she echoed in disbelief, hands clenched. "You're just like Mark! You hide it from me…" she railed suddenly before halting just as abruptly, eyes hot.

Mark? That name put everything in place for Chakotay and her angered gaze suddenly seemed directed not at him but at the fiancé who hadn't been willing to await her return…

The same thought seemed to pass through her mind as the heat left her eyes and became cool and indifferent, more considered. He wondered if she was seeing the real flesh and blood man before her for the first time instead of the clay she'd endlessly been trying to force into a Mark shaped mould. At the instant their eyes met all their illusions and expectations they'd had of each other, that had so dominated and overshadowed their relationship for over seven years were obliterated and it came like a blessed relief, the frustration and near romances now seemed pointless to both as they realised they didn't know each other at all, only their self indulgent mirages, obscuring the real people.

It was at that moment that Seven walked in and as her eyes went automatically to Chakotay, the Captain saw the love in them, real and unhidden if you paid attention. When had she lost that ability, when had she become less trusting and more jaded than a drone who for much of her life was less emotionally functional even than Picard's famous android? With difficulty she looked at the woman, feeling the irony that the two people whose thought process she had never been able to grasp had such a deep understanding, which though she had been oblivious to but was now very aware of, even in the way their posture and private glances seemed to bound them together. "Seven, I don't like secrets and this could have endangered the crew. What if Chakotay had been injured or worse and you lost your rationality? It's dangerous!"

Seven, at first shocked but quickly grasping the situation, dipped her head low. "I realise that Captain, it was unwise…" She met the Captain's eyes, passion keeping them steady. "I love Chakotay Captain." She said simply.

The Captain wondered if this was the only real emotional confession she was ever going to get from her as she nodded slowly, "I know, go back to work both of you." Seven gulped in relief and turned to leave, Chakotay behind with his hand on her back until the Captain spoke again and he halted. "Chakotay, on New Earth, if we'd had longer…"

Chakotay looked at her calmly. "Maybe Kathryn, maybe but I'm not Mark and I wouldn't have been there either." He waited for a slow nod before joining Seven outside and the Captain walked to her replicator.

"Coffee, black." She ordered before reconsidering. "No, an Irish coffee." She lifted the steaming cup to her lips and took a swig before gazing into the mug as the synthehol merged with the coffee. If only she could turn back time, back to when she had accepted this mission…

**A/n: I hope nobody HATES the Captain's reaction, (I never felt that she got over her fiancé) please review anyway and tell me what you think of this chapter!**

**I've set up a C/7 community! It's called "The Commander and the Borg" and it has all my stories on it and lots of better ones, please take a look.**


	8. Chapter 8

Seven paused outside the ready room door as Chakotay turned away from the Captain and joined her outside, the door closing swiftly behind him. As they walked together into a quieter corridor he laid a hand on her back, leaning in close to her ear as he said, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to tell her without you, I just…"

Turning hastily to meet his eyes and running her hand soothingly up his arm she made her position clear. "It is of no consequence how it happened, it had to be done." Seeing glad acceptance of her point in his eyes, she continued in a lower tone, "It is actually a relief…I dislike deception."

He smiled now; she could see a more intense version of her own relief and a settled calm happiness along with it. "I know, maybe it shouldn't have taken such a stressful situation for us to be clear about our own." He observed the flash of a wince cross her face at the hint and removed her hand from his arm to properly hold it in his own. "Your parents haven't left you alone?" he asked with soft seriousness.

"No." She responded curtly as she thought back to their confrontational conversation in the Mess Hall. "I left them in Astrometrics to speak with Irene Hansen."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "That was a good idea. Hopefully she can give them closure…" He paused slightly, unable to stop the bitter inflection which entered his voice as he added, "…and perspective."

Seven felt her throat tighten as she realised how much she doubted the statement. "Perhaps." She finally pressed through her lips as the stress headache pounding her brain intensified its constant thudding.

Chakotay perceived her pained frown clearly. "You look tired Seven; maybe you should regenerate while your parents are occupied."

She glanced up at him. "You wouldn't mind?"

He shook his head. "We have all the time in the world." He reminded her affectionately. Touched, she kissed him impulsively, allowing him to deepen and prolong it until she remembered that they were in a hallway, not a bedroom. As she pulled back he shot her a small teasing smirk. "See? Can you think of a better way to spend your time?"

She tapped him lightly on the arm in faux rebuke. "Just because the Captain now knows of our relationship does not mean I wish to become an unprofessional exhibitionist."

"Wait and see. You may find you like it if you try it." He murmured before letting her go. "I'll come see you in the Cargo Bay later okay?"

"I'd like that." She confirmed with a warm, albeit strained, smile and left to go to the Cargo Bay, trying hard not to think about in what way her three remaining blood relatives viewed her.

"…and Karl is a botanist now, chemistry just never suited him…" Irene paused in her flow of small talk to observe her brother and sister in law, deceptively accessible on the viewscreen but really a quadrant away, both physically and in their thoughts.

Erin finally made up her mind to speak of the elephant in the room, stepping decisively closer to the screen. "Do you speak with Annika often Irene?"

"Perhaps once a month or so if the link between Voyager and Starfleet is reliable."

"Did you tell her about us? She asked you didn't she?" asked Magnus with an unsettling violent eagerness.

"No, she never has, not directly anyway. It's not something we discuss." Irene answered awkwardly, not feeling fully able to look her brother in the eye.

"Well, what else _do _you talk about then?" Erin asked icily.

"What we've been doing, her work, neutral topics."

Magnus felt upset frustration sink in and didn't bother to hide it from his sister. "Irene! You were her only link with us! Surely you could've made an attempt to at least mention us even if you didn't agree with what we did…"

Irene's hands curled into fists as she remembered all the years she'd grieved wishing she'd voiced her disagreement with their plan more strongly, his last sentence made all her emotions boil over. "Oh, so you want me to have made excuses for you do you?" She snapped hotly before regaining her self control. "I tried my best but remember that I speak to her on her terms, if I make her uncomfortable she wouldn't contact me at all and what good would that do?"

"Her being a former drone makes _you_ uncomfortable?" Erin questioned her face still but her tone distinctly accusatory.

"_I _don't think like that. On the contrary, she is remarkably good natured despite everything that's happened, intelligent to the point of brilliant in fact. Let her be and she'll come round eventually…" Irene saw Magnus stiffen even further, like when he'd been caught out in an act of bad behaviour in childhood. "What have you been saying to the poor girl Magnus?"

"I don't step around an issue like you do Irene. She _has_ to understand why we did what we did…"

Erin saw the colour drain from Irene's face as it went white with anger. "You've been trying to_ justify_ what you did? Magnus, get rid of what whatever chip you have out of your shoulder about your work, you're not trying to sell a plan to a group of Federation hacks you're trying to get your traumatised daughter to give you a shred of trust which frankly…" She stopped herself just in time from continuing with "you don't deserve" but she could tell that they had filled in the blanks and saw Magnus's whole face shudder, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears and pity washed over her in freeing waves. "Look, I don't want to argue over this…it's just been twenty three years of grief and loss built up…you're all alive, it's a miracle…" Tears began to slide down her face. "I only hope that one day you can see that and be content with what you have. Goodbye dears." The screen then went blank, the click of disconnection the only sound in the room for several minutes.

"That can't be true…it's not like that. She's wrong isn't she?" Erin began to ramble in denial as her nerves twisted her emotions in a knot. "_Say something_ Magnus!" she choked out at her statue like husband.

"Like what?" he snarled. "That none of it's true? That would be a lie." He saw that her eyes were tearful with betrayal and slammed his fist hard on the console, feeling the rush of pain up his hand. "You think I like thinking that my little girl hates me…no is afraid of me? I am defensive because what else can I be? I'm going to have to prove my right to be her father for the rest of her life, all because I was selfish and self important! My God Erin, we don't even deserve to have whatever's left in that Borg shell…"

"Don't you dare say that! You're still selfish! You're only giving up because it's easier!" Erin cried hysterically. Suddenly he stepped forward which such a look in his eye she thought he was going to hit her but then he seemed to rethink, instead turning on his heel and heading for the door. "Where are you going?" Erin asked shakily, upset by the animal like wildness in his expression.

"To down several stiff drinks." He muttered coldly before storming out of the room.

**A/n: Very short, sorry! How am I going? Is it too intense or unrealistic? Please review!**

**I hope everyone had a great Christmas like I did. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

It was all Erin could do to put one quavering foot in front of the other as Irene's words echoed through her brain, now that initial denial had blown itself out she knew every one of them to be true and although pain accompanied that knowledge it was Magnus's reaction that truly upset her, rousing the grief and anger she knew he would at that moment be trying to drown out by whatever means necessary. Why should she care? The thought crossed her mind in a blaze of resentment and anger but she knew enough of her husband's temperament for it soon to be over taken by pity. Intelligent and devoted as Magnus was, or had once been, he was also proud, stubborn and insular to the point of self-destruction. Her arrival in the most unexpected of places, Annika's cargo bay, jerked her from her thoughts as the Collective memories which had slowly been returning over the days since her freedom suddenly came back in an overwhelming flood. The cargo bay mentally morphed into a Cube, drones crowded her, the forceful buzz of the other voices silencing her own… Eventually the flashback released its grip on her and she found herself staring at a stack of cargo carts, she almost missed the voices of the others in this desolate dehumanising cave Janeway had the nerve to shut her daughter away in. It was then that she saw Annika herself, standing in the shadowy confines of an alcove, her body frozen, still as a statue. The only sign that she lived at all was her soft breathing and the slight movement behind closed eyelids. Erin stared at her for several minutes, the only chance she'd had to observe the woman who acted like a half feral animal in her presence, lashing out or avoiding her altogether. Much like the Borg, who when not violently assimilating, ignored everything around them.

The sound of the doors opening made Erin bolt unseen behind the crates, out of view of the door but still able to see Annika and her immediate surroundings. A tall dark man whom she recognised as the ship's First Officer both by uniform and research strode single-mindedly towards Annika's alcove and stop in front of it, gently shaking her lower arm. "Seven?" he murmured softly.

Annika's eyes opened almost instantly. Erin shifted back nervously but noted abruptly that she needn't have bothered, Annika's attention was completely absorbed, her face bright as if it had finally been infused with life and her smile warm and natural, _loving_, Erin realised in shock. "Chakotay?" she asked in the same soft tone the officer had used. She seemed to notice something in his face as concern flickered across hers and one of her fingers ran lightly over his jaw bone as she asked "What's wrong?"

"The Vulcan drone we freed has woken, Tuvok's talking to her now but he asked for you to help explain things…"

"Of course, I must."

"Seven, you've been through enough with your parents, let me ask Icheb to do it…"

She stiffened visibly, even before him, which surprised Erin. Were they such a taboo for her? "Irrelevant." She stated bluntly before regret plainly crossed her features and she looked at Chakotay with sorrowful, trusting eyes. "Any reprieve is preferable my love. Indifferent strangers I are often a blessed distraction."

Erin heard him utter a weighty sigh before replying quietly, "Sometimes."

Annika then put her hands lightly on his shoulders and stepped into his embrace. A long kiss was shared before she pulled back, though their faces almost touched as she spoke again, "Will you come with me?" she requested at a whisper. Chakotay didn't respond verbally, had no need to as they kissed again and walked away together, the doors closing behind them.

Erin stepped from her hiding place, guilt and anxiety prickling her as the realities of what she'd covertly seen hit her. A large part of her was relieved, relieved to see any emotion, let alone love on the face of the daughter she'd begun to fear was voluntarily isolated, so scarred that her humanity left her with nothing but resentment of them. Still the motherly, protective part of her was repulsed, she's too young! No, the irritatingly logical Borg voice that had begun to reassert itself reminded her, she's not a baby; you were married two years with a newborn baby when you were her age. Erin didn't like that thought, it reminded her how much of her child's life she had missed. She leaned heavily on the cargo crates to steady herself; alright she has every right to love, but him? The man who tried to suck you out an airlock Annika? There was so much trust between her and this _stranger_ that Erin knew that her heart would be broken if he betrayed her and who was to say he wouldn't? A Maquis leader, a betrayer of the Federation, a _killer_, not only of Cardassians but of his own fellow citizens. She knew all this not because the Maquis had existed twenty three years ago but because of her and Magnus's research, helped by their new Borg photographic memories. Erin wasn't a hypocrite, she knew Magnus and she had rebelled against the Federation in going to study Borg with the Council's explicit disapproval but that was different from actually waging a war!

She paced the floor. She might dislike the situation but Magnus would go on the warpath if he knew. Yet to pass judgement may estrange them irretrievably, she almost wished she hadn't seen it at all since she could obviously do nothing… Wait, perhaps not nothing… With that thought she left and headed to Sickbay.

"Look over there Harry." Harry lifted his eyes from his plate to meet Tom's, following his gesture to look at the table behind them, where a man he slowly recognised as Seven's father was half slumped over, a glass of vodka in a shaking hand and a half drunk bottle beside him.

"Do you think we should tell him Borg implants and alcohol don't mix well?" Harry asked in a low tone.

Tom studied the man for a moment, pity in his eyes. "Let him be. I'd drink myself to hell if I did that to Miral." Harry nodded a dark look in his eyes. "What Harry? Worried about Seven? I'm sure she'd appreciate your help in this…"

"No one can help her with this, that's the problem! They treat her badly and then expect her to take them back…"

"Every parent hopes that their children will always be theirs Harry, whatever they may do." Tom said with a voice that said he'd given much consideration to the question. "Not that Seven doesn't have the right to act in whatever way she chooses…" He was interrupted by a thud as Magnus fell from his chair, shuddering violently.

Both men dismissed their private beliefs and rose to help him. Harry took one arm and Tom the other and they slowly lifted him up, he fought even as his eyes rolled partway back. "Come on man, you've had enough for one night…" Tom said, his attempt at camaraderie falling flat.

"Gone…gone, all gone… Erin…Annika…the Borg…the voices are silent…we're all dead…" Magnus groaned in a slur as his legs buckled.

Harry began to feel sympathy, reminded how almost everyone had resented Seven at the beginning even Chakotay, who know as he'd seen, adored her. As her friend he had to put anger aside. "Let's get him to Sickbay." He said with resolve and Tom and Harry gently carried Magnus out of the way of prying eyes and to the Doctor's care.

**A/n: Sorry it's short again but my computer's playing up a bit. Please review and thanks to MidnightVampireCharlotte for putting up another chapter of "Amy".**


	10. Chapter 10

Tuvok lifted his eyes from his Vulcan compatriot's dazed and apprehensive face as he heard Sickbay's doors open again. Unexpectedly he saw Erin Hansen enter and approach them. He noticed Seven and Chakotay, sitting side by side at the other end of the Vulcan's biobed, both stiffen at the sight, Chakotay's face became tense, dark and unreadable while Seven's facial muscles gave a sharp jerk of surprise before falling into its habitual impassive mask. Not for the first time Tuvok found his crewmate's level of self control impressive, almost Vulcan in standard when her human genetic predisposition for excess emotion and her lack of formal training were taken into account. He focused again on her mother as she approached him. "Excuse me Commander, I heard you were going to talk to the Vulcan who was freed with us and I think I could help, since we're in similar situations."

Tuvok shot Seven a minimal glance and she gave an equally discreet nod of acquiescence despite sensing Chakotay's growing unease and distrust beside her. Tuvok then turned to the older woman with a carefully measured expression, "That is a logical argument Dr Hansen; you may interact as you wish."

Erin gave him a grateful look as she murmured "Thanks" but she wasn't sure if his unbelievably stoic face even registered it as she sat down in the chair nearest Annika, just catching Chakotay's disapproving eyes give her a sidelong glance as she settled herself.

Tuvok observed this interaction for a moment, noticing how Erin unconsciously assumed exactly the same sitting position as her daughter before he focused again on the other former Borg who was unofficially _his_ responsibility. "You are on the Federation starship the U.S.S Voyager, stranded in the Delta Quadrant. We have freed you from the Borg Collective, what do you remember of your former life?" He asked.

The woman's face betrayed more fear than was considered decent in a Vulcan but given the circumstances he could forgive that, more encouragingly her eyes were steady as she met his, "My designation…my name is…T'Lena. I am…was a microbiologist on the Vulcan science ship Kalor."

"That corroborates the records; the Kalor was assimilated eight years ago." Seven said quietly, one eye on the information padd and one on the woman's face to assess her reaction, which was thankfully controlled, her next question logical as she saw her implants and those of the two women beside her.

"The two of you were also assimilated?" T'Lena asked.

"Yes." Seven replied before going more in depth. "I am Seven of Nine; I was freed by the Voyager crew over four years ago after more than eighteen years as a drone." Reluctantly she indicated her mother, "This is Dr Erin Hansen, she and her husband were freed with you." Erin flinched when Annika didn't introduce her as her mother but wordlessly allowed the slight to pass.

T'Lena now looked at them both, but especially Erin, with interest. "I apologise, I don't recall…"

Erin offered her a warm smile. "Don't worry, I think most, if not all, of your memories will return. Commander Tuvok…" The next name, if she could call it that, clogged her throat but she decided to give her daughter a concession for the moment, "…Seven and I will help you all we can."

Seven quickly hid the surprise and unexpected triumph that came over her as Erin finally used her preferred name and looked instead at T'Lena. "She is correct, we will do all we can to aid your adjustment."

"Thank you…" T'Lena began but was interrupted by a sudden ruckus in the doorway.

Seven felt horror set in as she saw Tom and Harry drag her obviously inebriated father into Sickbay on his knees, slurring with violent incoherence. She barely registered her mother's stupefied but angered exclamation, "Magnus, how much did you take?"

The Doctor was automatically in command now, issuing orders to the two unintended bearers. "Lay him on the biobed."

Tom and Harry did so, using every charm they had to coax and cajole before finally resorting to brute force to lay him down onto the biobed but he continued to struggle, yelling out wordlessly and thrashing around. The Doctor somehow managed to run a tricorder over him and quickly read the results. "A blood alcohol level of 0.48, more than enough." He looked to Tom. "Did you make note of his…method?" he asked discreetly, giving Seven and Erin an apologetic glance.

"Vodka. Half a bottle at least." Tom replied.

Erin looked flabbergasted. "He told me he was going to have a drink but he's drank more than that before and never been so…"

"Belligerent?" The Doctor filled in. "Well, Borg physiology can't absorb alcohol, any drink is about five times stronger with any of the three of you than with the average human. We'll need to sedate him before I can start treatment." He began to approach the now confused frightened man, whose yells were now pain filled cries.

"Silence, silence! Too quiet! Alone…can't function, help me! Oh God, why…" He howled as the Doctor came near him with a tranquiliser before twisting away, almost knocking over Harry with the uncontrollable strength in the movement.

Seven expected her mother to intervene and soothe him but she did nothing. Seven herself felt his unhappy rants, drunken though they were, tear at her soul until she couldn't take it anymore and strode up to the Doctor. "Give me the hypospray." She ordered in a tone which brooked no argument. Mystified, the Doctor handed it over and she fearlessly approached her father, looking him directly in the face as she murmured painfully, "Papa…allow me to sedate you…please…" Magnus instantly fell silent and abruptly stopping fighting, gazing at her unnervingly as she hurriedly injected the hypospray into his neck and he slid into unconsciousness and she became aware of everyone staring at her in wonder. Distractedly she looked to Tom and Harry, now freed of their burden. "Lieutenant Paris, Ensign Kim, thank you for bringing him here…I appreciate it."

Both men looked at her in mournful sympathy. "No problem Seven." Tom muttered before leaving quickly, Harry close in behind.

Seven, white as a ghost and leaning heavily on Chakotay caught her mother staring at her openly. "What do _you _want?" She snapped tearfully, eyes flashing before she hid them in Chakotay's shoulder.

"Nothing my love, I'm just surprised…" Erin began in trepidation.

Seven kept her gaze fixed on the floor, biting her lip as she coldly ground out, "Despite what you may think, I _can_ be magnanimous, when it is _utterly _necessary. If I wasn't you would still be on that Cube…" She felt Chakotay tighten his grip round her waist and managed to stop the sudden flow of venom.

Erin had suddenly gone stiff, feeling as if Annika had slapped her, her gaze frozen on Annika and her lover as she spoke with resignation. "Well, we're both overwrought…I for one have a migraine, do you think you could show me to an unoccupied set of quarters for a rest Commander?"

Tuvok looked ready to volunteer but Chakotay somehow knew she meant him and felt a shiver of unease travel up his back as he looked at Seven, who stepped out of his arms in silent permission. "Yes, of course. Come with me." God, it was like talking to his Cardassian jailers again, forced politeness was the skill of the day.

"Thank you." She said quietly as she headed for the doorway. Chakotay paused, loathe to leave as he saw Seven half collapse against a biobed.

Seven saw his upset look and she sighed deeply. "Go with her my love. I've had enough for now."

Despite her words of release the reluctance lingered on until the Doctor whispered. "I'll attend to her, just go." Curling his lips Chakotay braced his shoulders and followed Erin out into the hall.

**A/n: How is my characterisation this time? Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chakotay walked faster than normal from Sickbay to the nearest set of unoccupied quarters, hoping to deposit his companion in there to brood and return to Seven. He felt his posture tense as she released a small sigh and then her deliberate paces halted behind him. At first he was strongly tempted to leave her but his strong sense of duty and an infernal curiosity made him turn his head back slightly to see her stopped in the middle of the hallway, appearing pale and tight lipped, her eyes fixed on him as she kept her head defiantly erect and her hands clasped behind her back. The resemblance between mother and daughter struck him hard then, unsettling him enough to force him to speak to her. "Ma'am?" he addressed her with stiff formality, his eyebrow rising questioningly when she didn't reply. "Are you alright?" It seemed a pointless question he could answer for her after what Seven had said.

Her lips twisted upwards bitterly at the inane question and her gaze was cold and biting as she looked at him. "No Commander, I'm not." She paused to think for a second before coming to stand closer, though her pose, like his, remained overtly hostile. "May I ask you a question?"

Once again he felt the fear of entrapment rise within him as he gave a slow, cautious nod. "Ask away." He said with more terse distrust than he had meant to convey, which made Erin stiffen even further.

"Tell me _honestly_, what are your intentions towards my daughter?" The question was blunt, harsh even but the anxious strain in it managed to restrain Chakotay from a sharp retort. She deserved decency and honesty, if nothing else in his opinion.

These thoughts kept his eyes and voice level as he answered. "I'm in love with Seven; I have been for a while now." He intended to leave it there, turning away from her but she grabbed his arm.

"I hope you're telling me the truth because…" Her voice rose. "I will not tolerate her heart being played with as some sort of novelty…"

"_Novelty_?" he echoed angrily, wrenching his arm away. "I have never treated any woman like that and certainly not Seven!" He had to take a deep breath to stop himself from shaking with anger; he was hearing this from a woman who had happily dragged her child along with her into an unknown area of space without considering the dangers. "Look, whatever you heard or _saw_ concerning us…" Erin's wince confirmed his suspicion that she had been spying on Seven. "…obviously didn't give you a very clear picture of our feelings and as far as I'm concerned they're private anyway even if you are her mother." Her slightly lowered head gave him the courage to continue, "I can understand that you don't trust me but Seven does and her trust isn't an easy thing to gain…"

"That's your way of saying that you don't think her father and I are going to get it?" she snapped tearfully.

"Not the way you're acting at the moment!" he retorted hotly, stopping abruptly at the doors of the quarters he'd assigned her, he'd almost blanked out what he was supposed to be doing in the heat of the conversation.

Her eyes suddenly dulled as quickly as they'd flared up, her whole body slumped. To the objective part of his mind she looked frighteningly broken. "I just don't want her hurt anymore…" The words were so laden with grief that Chakotay was surprised to swallow a lump in his throat as he peered at her uneasily.

"I agree with you…" He began awkwardly, confused by the myriad of emotions which went through him, both in her persecution and defence. If that was what it was like for him, what must it be like for Seven and her parents? "That's the last thing I want." He ended softly but with a protective conviction of which Erin was very aware.

As he unlocked the doors to the quarters for her, his comm. badge broke the eerie silence. "Janeway to Chakotay, please report to the Bridge."

"On my way Captain." He replied in his standard tone before looking back at Erin. "I hope you feel better Dr Hansen, about everything." He murmured before setting off for the Bridge, feeling physically drained himself by the effort of the encounter.

"I hope so too." Whispered Erin thickly as she disappeared in the silent refuge of the empty quarters, her heart and mind reeling with confliction and confusion.

Seven was sitting in quiet conversation with T'Lena and Tuvok as she tried and failed to completely ignore the Doctor treating her father for over consumption of alcohol. Finally her reluctant ears heard him speaking to the Doctor and then she felt the Doctor putting his hand on her shoulder and saw Tuvok's averted eyes and T'Lena's curious ones as the Doctor said, "He wants to speak to you Seven." The larger part of her wanted to deny the request, not wanting a repeat of the last confrontation with her mother but as her logical mind knew to do so would only make him react worse, with only more pain and embarrassment for her, she rose from her place and walked within clear sight of her father's biobed, though she didn't approach him. "You wish to speak to me?" she asked detachedly.

He hurriedly sat up, putting his hand up to his head with a groan as he did so, being a drone for so long had faded his memories of how drastic a bad hangover could be. "Yes Annika, I do." He replied softly. His eyes scanned the room quickly. "Where's your mother?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "She…had a migraine and left to rest."

"Ahh, due in no small part to me I don't doubt. That's what she always says when she wants to avoid something." Annika's face gave nothing away and he sighed. "I'm sorry for what I did, I didn't realise alcohol would have that sort of effect…"

"Yes, I suppose your research didn't focus on that." She saw that her words had stung him but didn't care. "Alcohol is a depressant; I'm uncertain why any humanoid would drink it in such a situation."

"You're right of course, but sometimes human nature, especially mine, isn't that logical." He gave her a self deprecating smile but got only an icy look in return.

"I saw that."

"I know that Annika! If you're so angry, why did you help me?" He asked desperately but knew he should have phrased it better as hurt passed over her face for a millisecond.

"You wouldn't let the Doctor near you; I thought you may allow me…" She half heartedly explained as frustration built up within him, why can't you just say it was because I'm your father? That's all the explanation I need! He was starting to think that flash of his little girl he'd seen earlier was a dream. She continued, "The things you were saying in your intoxicated state, I've experienced them too…"

He winced painfully, hating the thought of her experiencing such raw separation. "I…hope you didn't drink to take the edge off." He muttered, unable to say any real response to her words other than make light of them.

"No, _I_ tried to return to the Collective." She heard her father gasp and kept her head down without looking at him. "Excuse me, I have work to complete."

As she headed to the door she heard him ask almost in a whisper, "We're never going to be able to talk about it are we?" His voice cracked, "Why do you think that is?"

"Because…a large part of me doesn't believe you deserve that level of trust." With that she left, once again without looking at him, but he believed her words would haunt him forever as he watched the doors close.

**A/n: This chapter was SO hard to write! The dialogue just wouldn't come into my head. I hope you still like the story though! Please review to make me feel better!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chakotay stepped on to the Bridge to see the Captain leaning over Harry's console, obviously absorbed in whatever it showed, barely lifting her head up as he approached. "You wanted to see me Captain?" he asked.

Straightening up she put a defensive hand on her hip as she read the irritation in his tone. "Yes Chakotay, I did. Come look at this." She indicated the lit up console with a flourish of her hand.

Obediently he glanced over the readings, frowning in bemusement as he did so. "A spacial anomaly?" he questioned hypothetically to a chorus of Kathryn and Harry's eager nods. "Well, it doesn't look like…anything I've seen before to be honest. A new kind of nebula or a particularly violent plasma storm maybe?"

Harry snorted. "No nebula could produce that much energy, I think it could be a cloaked planet or even a wormhole!" His excitement was palpable in his voice.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Harry!" The Captain laughed as she turned back to Chakotay, "So what do you think?"

"It's interesting…" Chakotay hedged noncommittally as he once again glanced over the strange readings with a sceptical, cautious eye.

"That's good because you're going to go in for a closer look. Harry and B'Elanna will be going with you." The Captain's voice glided easily over the words, as if her only request was for him to water her plants rather than go into who knows what with only a shuttle.

"Captain I'd rather not…" he began but she knowingly cut him off.

"If it's Seven you're worried about there's plenty of people here to keep an eye on her, besides I think you need a little time away, to avoid anymore…confrontations with the Hansens." Chakotay stiffened; obviously Erin Hansen wasn't the only one adept at spying. Janeway saw how his expression darkened and put a reconciliatory hand on his shoulder as she said, "It'll only be three hours, at the most."

Chakotay shifted back from her, his eyes steady but otherwise unreadable as he replied, "Fine. Harry, meet me in Shuttle Bay 2 in half an hour, we'll take the Delta Flyer."

The Captain gave a concise nodded but he'd already turned his back on her. "Good." She said with extra clarity, as if emphasising her authority before settling back in her chair as he disappeared into the turbo lift.

When Seven walked into the shuttle bay, she saw Chakotay lift his head, his face brightening with pleased surprise before it almost completely dissipated under a cloud of worry. She'd seen that look, loving as it was, on his face too often lately in regards to her. Pushing back the guilt that that thought created, she smiled at him affectionately as he wrapped her arm round her waist and peered at her anxiously. "What are you doing here? I was just coming to explain…"

She brushed her fingers over his lips to silence him and let her cheek rest on his broad shoulder. "I know. Icheb informed me."

"I'm sorry that…" he began sounding decidedly unhappy. Touched she hugged him tightly, for once not concerned that Harry and B'Elanna, as well as Tom and Miral who had also come to say goodbye were watching.

"Don't be. It may prove an important discovery." She soothed.

He shot her an intent look. "So you have no idea what it is?"

She gave an uncharacteristic shrug under his gaze, uneasy about something which seemed so utterly undecipherable, almost to the point of being sinister. "Astrometrics' scans did not reveal much, but you will be careful won't you?"

"Of course, I've to be back within three hours, Captain's orders."

Seven had to stop herself from releasing a sigh of relief and covered it up by hurriedly making a proposition. "Perhaps we can go to the holodecks when you return, I can't have been very fulfilling company for you recently…"

He squeezed her arm to express understanding before trying to lighten the mood. "Maybe I can finally get you to dance with me?" He teased, well aware of her long standing dislike of that particular activity. A laugh of denial left her mouth and he changed tact. "How about you just cook for me again honey? You know I'm a glutton, especially after an away mission."

"Agreed." Seven murmured softly, kissing him to seal the deal.

Tom cleared his throat behind them. "Excuse me but you're holding back departure…" Taking the hint, they parted and as Seven, Tom and baby Miral left the shuttle bay Tom couldn't resist a comment on what he'd overheard. "So…you like dancing Seven?"

She just smirked in reply, "You'll never find out Lieutenant." She replied as she turned on her heel, sorry to abandon the distractions company had offered her and again sink into thoughts about her family situation.

Magnus woke from another badly disturbed sleep in Sickbay to find Erin sitting quietly beside him, lost in thought. Guilt stabbed him and made the silence heavier between them before he finally broke it. "Erin, you need to know how sorry I am. I've been so wrapped up in myself I've not given you the support you deserve."

She heard the sincerity in his voice and saw more of the man she'd married in that moment than she had during their entire time on this ship. Gently she squeezed his human hand and kept a hold on it. "That makes both of us." She murmured.

He tilted his head in acknowledgement. "I thanked Annika…for helping me…"

"That's good dear." Erin encouraged, not mentioning what their daughter had said once he was unconscious.

"We talked, if you could call it that. She told me she once tried to return to the Collective…" Erin gulped hard and he paused to let her recover before continuing, "I asked her if she thought the three of us would ever be able to talk about it and she said…she didn't think so…because we don't…don't deserve that level of trust…" He forced out the painful, cloying words and kissed Erin's hand as she wept quietly. "That's the worst thing of all of this…that she lives in a world so devoid of trust, she doesn't have anyone here for her anymore than she did in the Collective…"

Erin's lowered head rose to shakily meet his gaze. "That's not true…she…she does have someone…" His brow furrowed in that determined curiosity she knew so well as she went on, "She's in love…with the First Officer…"

Magnus looked dumbfounded, then horrified. "The rebel one who tried to kill her?" As Erin nodded, breath escaped through his nostrils like an unsettled bull. "Good God! What is she thinking of?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I think he has feelings for her as well…" Erin soothed, though to his ears she didn't sound entirely convinced.

Magnus gulped repeatedly as protective fear strangled his rational thought for several seconds, though after his daughter had said to him relief abated his urge to do anything rash and he sank back against the biobed, unable to express how this revelation shook him to the core.

"Have you found _anything_ yet Harry?" Chakotay asked sharply from his place at the Delta Flyer's flight controls.

"We should see something soon Commander." Harry replied.

B'Elanna looked sympathetically at her uptight friend. "Don't worry, we'll head home soon. Tom won't be able to handle Miral alone for too long now that she's teething." She received a smile in response. God, she was glad she wasn't stuck in the middle of that drama. As a mother, she knew that the elder Hansens must be suffering unbelievably but as someone who had been estranged from her father for frankly a lot less than had been done to Seven, she didn't really feel able to judge the ex-drone's behaviour either. She was jolted out of these thoughts as an alarm went off at her console. "The neutrino emissions are dangerous we can't go any further…"

"But B'Elanna…" Harry began to object but as he looked out the window his tone changed abruptly. "My God, what the hell's that?"

B'Elanna's mouth dropped open. "I think we found what we're looking for…" Directly in their flight path was what could only be described as a Borg space station, interconnecting spheres and cubes with others buzzing around it, some sort of shield surrounding it all.

Chakotay found his mind wandering back to something Seven had mentioned. "It's a Borg Repair Hub, only the transwarp hubs are more heavily shielded."

"Do you think this is where the Hansens' cube was heading?" Harry asked, overawed.

Chakotay began to frantically dial in commands. "I don't care! We're getting out of…" An explosion cut him off.

Seven stood at her customary post on the Bridge, trying not to let her gnawing anxiety show. They were over an hour late. Tom wasn't so successful in controlling his nerves from where he sat at the comm. "Where the hell are they? We have to go look…"

"Captain, I am receiving a message, from the Delta Flyer." Tuvok intoned.

"Patch it through." Janeway ordered.

A gargled version of B'Elanna's voice echoed through the Bridge. "Emer…cy…Don't…Borg Repair…Hub…coming…" Seven's devastated shriek drowned out the static and Tom whirled round to face her.

"Seven, what…" He didn't get any further as a ghost like, shivering Seven, hand clamped over her mouth to muffle sobs, bolted uncontrollably from the room before anyone could stop her.

**A/n: I know you hate me right now but just trust me and REVIEW! I'll try and update tomorrow.**


	13. Chapter 13

Seven stared up at the ceiling as her hand drifted listlessly up to the dreamcatcher pinned to the nearest wall. It seemed a lifetime ago that she had received another one of these from a hologram as the dangling white and grey feathers caressed her fingers softly, the intricate multicoloured cord was pulled taut, ready to catch dreams… Her hand fell to the bed abruptly as tears cascaded uncontrollably down her face, if only there was some magic that would remove knowledge of this _nightmare_! Harry, B'Elanna and…Chakotay, all gone. Their bodies were deceased or their minds assimilated, they were lost forever. A groan left her throat as she turned on her side to face the vacant side of the bed, pointlessly she grasped the sheets, willing him to materialise. Why was she here, in his quarters? It changed nothing, wouldn't bring Chakotay back to her, restore Harry's lost opportunities or give Miral a mother a love her… Her dazed vision focused involuntarily on her cybernetic arm and suddenly impotent anger flooded her, driving her nails into the flesh around the metal until it bled, such was her desire to gouge the implant out. It had always been a bone everyone picked with her, why she didn't take the suffering caused by the Borg as a personal guilt, at least not as far as they could see but now the full force of that bottled up guilt and self hatred overwhelmed her. I am Borg, I killed them, it's my fault…

"Captain, we have to do _something_!" Tom raged, wild with fear as he stalked around the briefing room.

"Calm down Lieutenant, your reaction is unhelpful." Tuvok said quietly.

"Calm down? My wife sends a garbled message about Borg which is so ominous that Seven of all people bursts into tears and you want me to _calm down_?"

Janeway laid an understanding hand on his arm. "I know Tom. We _will _do something, but we need to hear the facts from Icheb first okay?" She then nodded to her young crewmember. "Go ahead Icheb."

Icheb stepped forward, his whole posture tense and upset but his voice matter of fact. "Yes Captain." He walked up to the wall console and pulled up a picture of a hub from Seven's Borg files. "A Borg Repair Hub is a complex temporarily constructed in space, consisting of perhaps two to three interconnecting hundred cubes which can split off autonomously. Their main purpose is to create a foothold to expand Borg space by maintaining damaged cubes, acting as a base while planets are assimilated or transwarp conduits are built. The Queen frequently moves between them while not in conquered space…"

Janeway cautiously interrupted him, now disturbingly aware of how hopeless the situation was beginning to sound, "So you're saying the Delta Flyer basically stumbled into a Borg space station?"

Before Icheb could answer, Tom, sagging in a chair like a deflated balloon, flew off the handle. "We can't just leave them there!"

Icheb bit his lip and swallowed. "A Repair Hub is one of the most heavily fortified Borg installations in existence, second to only a transwarp hub in importance…but the fact that they were even able to send a message bodes well, if they were far enough away to do that then it may only have been the shields that damaged them and the Collective may decide their assimilation an inefficient use of energy."

The Captain inhaled sharply, trying not to let the daunting nature of the task overwhelm her. "Well then, as long as there's a chance we'll continue to look. Report back to your posts."

"Yes Captain!" They all replied.

Erin and Magnus walked together through Voyager's eerily abandoned corridors. It set them both ill at ease but they had heard nothing of what had happened so dismissed the feeling as irrelevant. "You didn't tell me she was _living _with him Erin." Magnus said irritably.

"I don't know if she is or not but the computer says she's in his quarters." She replied, her gaze growing sharp as she noticed that he still looked disgruntled. "If you're going to take that sort of stance it's not advisable for you to talk to her. We're estranged enough!"

Abashed, as he reached the doors he turned to her. "Don't worry Erin, I'll be civil. I'm trying to rebuild here." He rang the doorbell.

Seven distantly heard the doorbell, the sound echoing in her unsettled ears as if she was underwater. She didn't move. It rang again. Go away Captain, she mentally pleaded as her head thudded back against the bed's headboard. Another incessant ring and then the swish of the doors but she didn't turn her head even as two sets of footsteps came in. Erin looked around the near pitch black room in confusion and made out Annika propped up on the bed, eyes distressingly vacant and glassy, as if her mind had left her body. "Annika, why are you sitting alone in the dark?" she murmured, a tremor in her own voice.

Magnus waited anxiously for a response, a reaction, even if it was negative. None came and a sense of sickening dread sunk into his heart. "What's wrong?" he asked but she seemed to be deaf to them. What's she doing brooding in her…boyfriend's quarters? What's he done? He knew he was jumping to conclusions but couldn't help it, any decent man would be with a lover who was so obviously distraught.

Erin sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and reached for her daughter's hand, somewhat surprised when she allowed the touch without flinching. "What happened? Annika please…" This almost catatonic state was really beginning to frighten her and she shook her arm. "Seven?" she asked in desperation. Grasping at straws she finally said, "Is it to do with Chakotay? Has he hurt you somehow my baby?" Annika's head snapped robotically round but she gazed at her mother as if she couldn't understand what she was saying.

Magnus took a powerful stride forward. "Look my dear, whatever's happened with him isn't worth you getting so upset over…no one's worth this…"

These words made her physically recoil and mentally wake. "Not _worth_ it?"Her voice sounded as brittle as dead leaves "That's how you comfort me when three blameless people are assimilated and we, who are Borg, are left…We killed them…" The last words became a hysterical sobbing shriek.

Her parents stepped back, realising that they had horribly misjudged the situation. "Annika what are you talking about?" Erin cried out desperately, "There hasn't been a Cube anywhere near this ship since we were brought on board!"

She stared into space, her voice strangely level and controlled. "The…Delta Flyer…they flew into a Borg Repair Hub…you know there's no return from that…"

Magnus uttered a choked gasp. "My God…we didn't…"

He was interrupted by the ship's comm. system, the Captain's voice booming through. "We got the Delta Flyer, they're alive!" Seven uttered a strangled sob and sprang up, her parents following her though the Doctor only allowed Seven into Sickbay.

Sometime later the Doctor met the Hansens just outside Sickbay's door. Magnus asked first, shakily, "How is everyone Doctor?"

"B'Elanna and Harry will live, though they're sedated now…"

"And the Commander?" asked Erin, worried for her daughter's sake.

The Doctor sighed. "He took the brunt of the blast, I've operated but we won't know for sure for twenty four hours or so…" He read their faces and stepped aside. "Alright you can go in but for God's sake don't upset Seven anymore…She's been through enough in the last week to bring on a mental breakdown if we're not careful…"

They nodded in understanding before silently walked in to see Seven sitting by a battered and lifeless Chakotay's bedside. Erin carefully touched her arm as she cautiously approached. "How are you?" she murmured.

Seven sniffed and drew her hand away from where it had been resting on her throbbing temple. "I am undamaged."

Erin gave her a sympathetic, if weak, smile. "I didn't mean physically darling."

Seven gulped repeatedly as she whispered, "If he survives I will be fine…" Her head bowed as she was unable to continue, "It's my fault…"

"What makes you say that?" Magnus asked in horrified concern.

Her tear stained face peered up at him. "I am Borg! I should have been able to identify what it was from here! I allowed them to go into a death-trap!"

"No!" Magnus exclaimed. "Repair Hubs are shield from the most accurate sensors from even half a lightyear away! You would have never been able to guess, please believe me Annika! This isn't anyone's fault…"

Seven just uttered a weak disbelieving sob and Erin lifted her face to hers by putting her hand under her chin. "You _know_ Chakotay would be livid with you for thinking like that even for a millisecond…"

"Why do they always come?" Seven muttered, as she stared at her parents before her grief collapsed in on her again. "It's not fair Mama…" she choked out, burying her head into her mother's shoulder and weeping as Erin pulled her into a tight hug.

**A/n: How did I do? I'm not sure! Is it believable? Please review! I'll explain exactly what happened to the Delta Flyer in the next chapter, don't worry!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/n: Sorry about the long wait for this. Hope you enjoy it.**

The next twenty four hours were long ones for all three of the Hansens. After weeping out all her pre-emptive grief and guilt into her mother's shoulder, Seven withdrew again, though not as completely as before, for once allowing her parents presence to soothe her anxious, unsettled soul rather than a strain. Not a word passed between them, nothing could replicate those few minutes of comfort Erin and Magnus had been able to offer their daughter at that broken and desolate moment in time. For the first time since their arrival, as they peered with deep parental concern at Seven, sitting pensively by the biobed looking as white and drawn as the unconscious man beside her, they were content with what she had given them and asked for nothing more.

Eventually Seven was dimly aware of the Doctor's hand on her shoulder and his voice echoing above her, "He's out of danger now Seven. There's no reason, if he continues to recover at the rate he is now, that he shouldn't make a complete recovery." These words were spoken with gentle, professional calm but even he, who'd known Seven all of her free life, was shocked by the emotion in her reaction. Instantly she drew back from his touch, well beyond even her considerable skill in emotional containment by now, her whole body shook with sobs of a relief so intense she wasn't sure she'd experience its like again.

Erin again threw caution to the wind and wrapped her arms, though not tightly, around her daughter. "See?" A small laugh of relief left her throat. "Everything's going to be fine…The Borg won't be taking anything else from you honey…" These words were barely out of her mouth before the Doctor's comm. badge, Seven had deactivated hers long before, sprang into life with Captain Janeway's voice.

"Doctor, are Seven and the Hansens there with you?" she asked quickly.

"Yes...they've all been with Chakotay, who's going to make a full recovery." The Doctor answered happily, not noticing the tension in the Captain's voice.

The Captain's deep and sincere sigh of relief could be heard before she spoke. "That's one piece of good news Doctor, we sorely need it. Tell the Hansens and Seven to come to Astrometrics, Icheb's made some unfortunate discoveries."

Erin felt Annika go stiff as a board in her arms before sinking back into her chair with a look of someone who was staring into an abyss as the Doctor said, "I'll tell them Captain."

"Good, Janeway out."

Seven rose into a standing position, but dizziness from so long in stressful inactivity meant her father immediately guided her back into the chair with a firm but understanding look on his face. "Your mother and I will go, you need to stay here and rest."

Seven's eyes flashed at him despite her physical weakness. "I must…"

He shook his head softly, deciding to ignore the defiance. "I'm sure the two of us and that clever young protégé of yours can placate Janeway for the time being."

Seven pursed her lips for a moment before giving them both a sharp nod. Erin wanted to say something but could already see that whatever progress they might have made, Annika's shields against them were still fully functional. Seven watched them leaving intently, unease churning her stomach until her eyes found Chakotay for a moment and just before their stiff backs disappeared into the hallway she murmured, just loud enough for them to hear, "Thank you." Neither vocally acknowledged her words but she saw in the way they instantly relaxed that it had had some effect.

Seven's parents had been gone several minutes before the Doctor cautiously spoke to her. "I can wake Chakotay up to speak to you, but only for a couple of minutes okay?"

Seven snapped out of the stupor she was in and eager happiness lit her normally cool eyes, her fingers unconsciously gently grasping Chakotay's as she spoke. "Could I? Would it be safe?" she asked in concern.

"Yes, if you keep him calm." He glanced at her damp, tear stained face sympathetically. "The emotional confidences can wait a little while can't they?" Seven smiled sardonically and wiped her face as the Doctor brought Chakotay round.

To her his arrival into consciousness seemed painfully slow, in reality it was little more than a minute before his heavy lids opened and his eyes focused on her. "Seven…" he mumbled in dreamy confusion, wincing as pain pierced his skull. "My head…where are we?" he asked fretfully.

Happy as she was to hear his voice, Seven still bent forward to soothe him, stroking his cheek rhythmically. "Shh… You're in Sickbay, you haven't been well…" Her voice cracked painfully but her self control immediately kicked in, levelling her tone. "But you're going to be fine now." She whispered as he leaned sleepily into her hand.

Within a minute though, Chakotay proved to her that he could still read her better than anyone, even semi-conscious. Determinedly he reached up to her face, his fingers brushing her cheek lightly. "You've been crying." He said with such quiet certainty that Seven barely considered denying it.

"Yes…" She murmured carefully, "…but it's all over for both of us now so don't worry." He frowned at her sceptically and she had to continue, "We'll talk about later my love…I promise." She kissed his cheek softly, smiling as she heard his whispered "Okay."

Erin and Magnus were hit by the tension and foreboding in the room as soon as they entered Astrometrics and the Captain whirled round to face them, looking surprised. "Where's Seven?" she asked them by way of greeting.

"She isn't well. We left her in Sickbay with Chakotay." Stated Erin firmly, not allowing herself to be intimidated.

Magnus backed her up in the same tone. "Three former Borg can't be much worse than four. Now, what is it?"

Janeway sighed. "Icheb?"

"Our scans have revealed that we find ourselves on the border of newly conquered and constantly expanding Borg space, the Repair Hub seems to have been the "tip of the iceberg" as the human saying goes." Icheb said quietly, stepping aside to allow Seven's parents to make an assessment for themselves.

"Well, we'll just have to go around it, there's no other choice!" Erin exclaimed.

Magnus frowned in concentration."That would take…"

"3.5 years." Icheb filled in helpfully.

Magnus gave a frustrated sigh and glanced grimly at his horrified wife. "Precisely."

Janeway seemed to brace herself. "You two found a way to go through Borg space in your ship, even walk around cubes, unnoticed. You invented technology to blend in like background noise…"

"The Raven was a less than a tenth the size of this ship!" Magnus pointed out bluntly.

"And it failed! We were_ assimilated_!" Erin cried angrily.

"We are _surrounded_ by Borg space! There's no other way. The Delta Flyer sensors told us that Repair Hub has almost completed a transwarp conduit. If we could just get to that undetected…" The Captain argued.

"The transwarp conduits are some of the most heavily defended areas of space in the galaxy, don't you listen to _anything_ Annika tells you? It's too dangerous!" Erin retorted.

"Erin..." Magnus began.

"You can't _possibly_ be considering this Magnus! Not after what happened…" Erin choked out in shock and anger.

"She's right about one thing, we're trapped. We have to try something." The words were painful for him to say even then but he couldn't even imagine repeating such an argument to Annika and hoped a miracle would happen before he had to.

**A/n: I hope you like where I'm going with this. Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/n: I'm not feeling that well today but I've decided to try and update this anyway. I hope its okay.**

A deeply resigned Magnus Hansen left Astrometrics as soon as was humanly possible, longing to escape but on hearing familiar, rushed and angry steps behind him his shoulders could only slump further in defeat as Erin reiterated her stance against Captain Janeway's plan. "Magnus, tell her it can't be done for God's sake! I'd rather spend the best part of three years avoiding the Collective than put ourselves, Annika, and this crew in harm's way again! If Annika thinks _we _proposed this then we'll _never _have our daughter back! Please tell me you realise that much…"

"Of course I do!" He cried out in frustrated reply, having to exhale several times before he was calm enough to gently take his wife's arm and look seriously into her face. "Erin, I know all that…maybe even more than you do but if we did what you're suggesting we'd be on the run from the Borg for years on their border, in _constant_ danger, waiting to be picked off…" He had to pause to both collect himself and study Erin's expression as it changed from anger to fear. "This…plan, if we perfected it, would limit our exposure, perhaps even increase our odds of living through this and from what I've heard, this crew aren't averse to risking everything for a way home."

Erin snorted in undisguised contempt. "The Captain would maybe but the others? Their home is here, on this ship, the quicker they all accept that the easier it will be!"

Magnus gave her an affectionate, if a little wan and saddened, smile. Erin was practical, the opposite of his, at one time at least, dreamy nature. "You underestimate the stubbornness of this crew I think my dear. There isn't much choice in the matter, we'll meet Borg either way, Annika has enough sense to be fully aware of that."

Erin frowned at him with sceptical unease. "And do you want to be the one to make her aware?" she asked quietly.

Magnus sighed heavily, his head low, his face lined with anxiety and grief. Suddenly he looked considerably older than his fifty nine years. "I'm trying to put that off for as long as possible Erin."

"How?" she queried.

"By coming up with another plan." He replied softly, glancing at his wife who nodded silently in agreement.

That night passed with Seven oblivious to the turmoil swirling around her, with neither her parents, the Captain, or anyone else having the will to inform her of the plan. The morning arrived to find her still in Sickbay, not having left a now fully conscious Chakotay's side for over thirty six hours by the time the Doctor ran a scan over Chakotay and let out a breath of satisfaction. "I think I can release you to your quarters now Commander, on strict medical leave of course, no ship duties for at least four days, no exceptions." He indicated Seven, "I think she'll make sure you don't break that rule."

"You are correct Doctor." Seven said immediately, earning a chuckle from Chakotay which caused pain to cascade up his chest and back, Seven looked at his wincing face in concern.

"It would be better not to overuse your sense of humour at the moment, even under my skilled care a recently punctured lung and five broken ribs are going to leave some tenderness behind."

Chakotay saw panic cross Seven's face for a moment before she went completely still and expressionless, now afraid, he knew, of provoking any emotional reaction from him at all. "Thanks for that Doctor." He muttered sarcastically.

The Doctor just raised an eyebrow and handed him a hypospray. "Painkillers for your head, inject them twice a day for a week, I've just given you your morning dose and if you experience any nausea or dizziness come back okay?"

"Fine Doctor, thanks." Chakotay replied with impatient gratitude as he reached out for Seven. "Come on hon." He said softly to the nervous woman and they walked together, slowly at Seven's insistence, to his quarters.

Seven watched from the middle of the room as Chakotay settled tiredly on his bed, overwhelmed with the memories of when she'd last been there. Chakotay looked at her in concern. "Come on Seven, I'm not made of glass, try not to worry." He coaxed, indicating the place on the bed beside him. Quietly Seven arranged herself until she was lying facing him on her side, carefully avoiding his injured areas before reassuring herself by continually keeping her eyes on him, irrationally scared that he wouldn't be there if she turned away. Chakotay sensed this and gripped her hand tightly in his own. "That was quite a scare." He commented in a neutral tone, trying to draw her out.

Seven's response was _far_ from neutral, quick fire and weighed with emotion. "I thought you were dead! Or assimilated!" A sob caught in her throat, "I was _more_ than scared…" Tears streamed down her face and she pressed her face into the pillow. "I'm…sorry…" she choked out with difficulty.

"No, no…" He murmured, reaching out to stroke the damp face, "_I'm_ sorry, I know you were frightened for me, it was a crass comment…"

"I'm not…talking…about…that…" She gasped out between sobs.

Chakotay's handsome face creased in bemusement. "What are you talking about then sweetheart?"

"It was my…fault. If I had only realised the danger then…" She could go no further, overcome with the guilt and self hatred of two days before.

Chakotay, despite his injuries, grasped her forcefully by the shoulders. "Seven, how can you torture yourself with that? It was my choice to go and my eyes saw the hub before the sensors got through the shield so there's no way you could have guessed…"

Seven saw that his eyes were flashing with protective frustration and filled with his own guilt. Gulping hard she murmured, "That's what my parents said…"

"They were with you?" He asked, receiving a nod before pulling her into his arms and rubbing soothing circles into her tense back as he murmured, "Maybe they're more sensible than we first thought hmm?"

Seven buried her face into the warm crook of his neck. "I think so…" She replied in a barely audible whisper.

After lying comfortably together like this for some time, the repetitive beep of Seven's comm. badge broke the peace. "Seven, would you come to the Briefing Room now please?" The Captain asked.

Both Seven and Chakotay sighed, but thankfully quietly enough that the comm. system didn't pick up the sound. "I will be there imminently." Seven reluctantly responded before leaning into Chakotay's parting kiss.

"Hurry back." He whispered in a conspiratorial tone as she slid off their bed. She just smiled in response and headed to the Briefing Room.

The two elder Hansens were already in the Briefing Room, feeling cornered and filled with dread at the thought of their daughter's imminent arrival. Much as they'd racked their brains for answers throughout the night before, none had come. The situation had only worsened with time. The Captain was more attached to her plan, more determined to carry it out, than ever before and to their shock the Vulcan former drone had thrown in her complete support and the senior officers seemed willing to hear the Captain out for now. Erin felt her heart sink as Annika entered, calmly asking, "Yes Captain?"

Janeway nodded apprehensively at Seven and indicated the scans on the computer screen. "We're in a situation Seven; I wanted to hear your thoughts."

Seven inhaled sharply as she looked at both Astrometrics' scans and the ones from the Delta Flyer. "A new section of Borg space, I should have thought as much." She sighed as she did the calculations in her head, "I'm sorry Captain, this will be a significant detour on our route to the Alpha Quadrant." She said quietly, expecting to see despondency form on the Captain's face but was unnerved when her face remained unchanged.

"It doesn't have to be. We've developed a plan." The Captain said, her face upturned and hopeful.

Seven's brows folded down into a frown of incredulity and trepidation. "What exactly do you propose we do Captain?" She didn't reply just handed her a pad, which Seven quickly read and memorised, almost dropping it in horror before turning like a furious tornado to her parents and saying through gritted teeth, though almost with a pleading, forgiving note in her voice as she fervently hope this was a mistake, "What is the meaning of this?" She saw her father brace himself and burning betrayal surged through her veins and out of her mouth before he could speak. "Why do you continue to delude yourself and wrap a desperate crew up in those delusions? Don't you remember what this technology led to?" she shouted in passionate anger.

Magnus flinched as if she'd slapped him but spoke with eerie calm. "There's no other choice Annika, we tried everything…"

"There's always a choice!" Seven shot back venomously.

Erin stood up abruptly in desperation, her chair tumbling to the floor. "Annika, we know what happened! We don't want to do it, it was the Captain's idea…someone who doesn't know of the risk as we do…"

Seven gave her mother enough benefit of the doubt to glance at the Captain, who despite looking shocked by the words that had flown, nodded unashamedly. Seven scanned the room, her face hardening to ice. "Fine." She said clearly. "Do as you wish if you want to seal your fate." With that dark pronouncement she turned on her heel and fled from them all.

**A/n: I don't think this is my best chapter ever but please cheer me up with a review.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/n: Sorry I've left this for so long, I got distracted by my new C/7 story "Consequences". I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chakotay propped himself up against his bed's headboard and tried once again tried to concentrate on the open page of a rather thick 19th Century novel Kathryn had loaned him months ago, no wonder he hadn't read it when he'd had nothing better to do, it was even more miserable than the worries floating around his head about what could possibly be happening in the Briefing Room, being excluded made him paranoid…

It was in this state of mind that he glanced up as the doors opened, but the Seven he saw enter at that moment was very different from the calm, affectionate version who had left him just fifteen minutes before. She burst in, her movements as frantic as her eyes, a sound suspiciously close to an angered sob escaping her before she halted abruptly, chest heaving as her expression focused and she seemed to finally realise where she was. After several seconds waiting for her to speak and getting nothing, Chakotay rushed up to his feet, ignoring the pain from his injuries, and grasped her arm to force her to look at him, "What happened Seven?" He asked in a low tone which finally seemed to knock Seven back into self control as she looked up at him.

"They…" She began to croak out but then gulped and stiffened, her arms unconsciously taking their habitual defensive position behind her back as the emotions gave way into the necessity of telling information. "We are on the edge of Borg space…" She glanced momentarily at Chakotay's bruised ribs, "…as you are aware the Delta Flyer found a transwarp conduit." She took a deep breath as Chakotay's eyes clouded over, already anticipating what she was going to say, a retaliatory Borg attack maybe? What she actually came out with took his breath away, "The…the Captain…wishes to attempt to use it."

His incredulous disbelief was almost as violent as hers had been. "What? What the hell is she thinking? It would be impossible, it's suicide! Didn't she see what happened to the Delta Flyer? To Harry, B'Elanna and me?"

Seven winced, hating the reminder, shifting away from him before saying with icy Borg clarity, "She seems to believe that by using…" She gagged on the next words, "…my parents' cloaking technology, the ship can pass by unseen."

Chakotay stared at her with a mixture of shock and horror. "And they agreed with her?"

Seven smirked, bitter betrayal evident on her face. "Enough to agree to try it." She replied bluntly, pressing the heel of her hand against her eyes which ached to cry, "I was so naïve…I had begun to believe their cries of repentance, I…never should have…"

Chakotay pulled her hands away and pressed his own against her pale, damp cheeks. "All you did was begin to trust your own parents… There's nothing wrong with that, do you hear me?"

Seven nodded slowly but her eyes remained downcast, "This conversation changes nothing, the Captain has set our path…" She gulped as resignation drowned out the anger and the need to resist. It was pointless, she had been flowing with the multitude against her will all of her life, only now instead of the Collective it was the crew's wish to return home which dragged her along a destructive path.

Chakotay reluctantly let go of her, pausing to make sure she could hold herself up before speaking, "I'll go and talk some sense into them…"

Seven gripped his hand as she collapsed into a chair. "I doubt you'll be successful." She murmured.

Chakotay had rarely seen her look so utterly defeated and lifeless. Gently he released his hand, "That doesn't mean I won't try." Seven watched him leave in silence before allowing soundless sobs to wrack her.

Everyone on the Bridge felt chills of unease travel up their backs as Chakotay strode wordlessly past them and disappeared into the Captain's ready room, appearing to be what could only be described as thunderous. "God, the Captain's really in for it this time." Tom muttered to Harry, who was already meticulously planning out where the Hansens' devices would be placed throughout the ship.

"Do you think he'll talk her out of it?" Harry asked in an anxious whisper.

Tom gave a dry chuckle under his breath. "When's he ever managed that before?" He remarked, his face then darkening into real seriousness, "Would it be so bad if he did?"

While this conversation was being conducted out of his hearing, Chakotay slammed his fist on the desk in a way which _could_ be heard on the Bridge. Kathryn jumped despite herself but as always was ready with a defence, "Chakotay, I know how you feel but it's the better of two huge risks, the devices are replicated and being fitted as we speak…"

"No Kathryn, I don't think you know how I feel! You're being blinded by the prospect of immediate return to the Alpha Quadrant! Yes it would take longer and still be dangerous but going around the Borg is the only option…"

Janeway frowned at him. "I remember having a very similar conversation with you, almost five years ago now, when you wanted to settle for a quiet colony on a planet and I took a risk to work with the Borg! Even you can't say that wasn't the right choice, after reaping such rewards from the encounter?"

"The alliance was different! Then we at least had some leverage but now all we have to rely on is technology which has brought nothing but pain! When Seven tried to use it to comply with you the Queen took her…"

Janeway stood up and looked him straight in the eyes. "The _technology_ never failed, it was always human error, once by arrogance and once by blackmail. This time we've learned from the mistakes of all three Hansens."

"Have you? Have you really?" He asked with cold sarcasm, glaring back at her steady gaze before leaving abruptly, unable to hide his contempt.

Having found that Seven was no longer in his quarters, he made his way down to the Cargo Bay, seeing to his unpleasant surprise, Magnus Hansen. "What are you doing here?" Chakotay asked, not bothering to hide his hostility as he edged closer to Seven, standing oblivious in her alcove, a deep frown scarring her features even when she was supposed to be at peace.

Magnus assessed him in silence for a moment, the protective hostility actually making him warm to the man. At least Annika's feelings were unquestioningly returned. With a sigh he indicated the crate beside him, full of the logs and loose objects that was all that remained of his life on the Raven. "I was looking at my old designs, seeing if your Captain's plan has a leg to stand on…" He lifted a pad and shot an affectionate glance at his unconscious daughter. "Annika must have worked on them at one point, the ones being replicated now are much more efficient than mine ever were."

Chakotay gave him a dark frown. "She did, efficiency is important to her, almost as important as honesty."

Magnus fought his urge to flinch at the rebuke and instead nodded, knowing it was true. "I never wanted it to be like this... You're right, Annika deserves better. Her mother and I tried to think of something to avoid the Borg, but we're trapped either way…"

Chakotay's face tightened, he didn't like excuses. "If you think doing this, proving your technology works, will relieve the guilt it won't. Thinking of your past is sabotaging your present and future."

That hit a deep, though unacknowledged, nerve and Magnus had to gulp hard to hold the pain back. "It's far too late for atonement, maybe even forgiveness…" He whispered before abruptly changing the subject, Seven style, by asking an unexpected question, "Do…you know if she ever read my logs, saw how much I loved her then and now?"

Chakotay was taken aback but answered honestly, "I know that at one point she did, at least partly. I was when we last tried to outsmart the Borg with your technology, the Captain said she needed understanding, closure… When she went with the Queen I read them to try and understand…"

"And did you? Did she?" asked Magnus quietly.

"Yes, I did. More than I do now. As for Seven, I don't know but you've ripped any closure from her with your actions."

Magnus' face twisted and for a moment Chakotay was sure he saw the older man crying. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, I've learned that the hard way. I hope you and Annika never have to." On this desolate philosophical note he left, only throwing a sorrowful look back at Seven before disappearing out into the hallway. Chakotay, deeply disturbed, followed a few minutes later.

"Seven. Seven of Nine." Seven's eyes slowly fluttered open, expecting to see the Cargo Bay in front of her but instead saw the waxy, mutilated face of the Borg Queen, who was standing almost nose to nose with her, a sadistic smile traced across her disjointed features. Seven jolted back in shock and fear but the Queen's fingers formed an icy vice like grip on her arm. "Aren't you going to greet your Queen? The humans obviously haven't been successful in teaching you manners."

"You have invaded my mind, manners are _irrelevant_!" Seven spat out when fear's paralysing effects loosened their grip on her voice.

"Your mind _welcomed_ us back! The simplicity, the perfection, it is a requirement for you as much as for all of us…"

"What do you want?" Seven ground out.

The Queen smirked in response and ran a listless finger down Seven's cheekbone, as Seven shuddered, the nails drew blood. "You plead ignorance of Janeway's plan? Of your parents' involvement?" Her smile widened as Seven pulled back with a hiss. "It's not that we don't wish your return, or your parents' return for that matter, we desire that more than anything, but the transwarp conduit is vital… The Hansen line has proven genetically stubborn, they didn't give into their own daughter's plea of reason. It seems you will need to be our messenger…" Seven barely had time to tense in fear let alone respond before a command of the Queen's mind forced unbelievable pain up her nerves and the last thing she was aware of was hearing her own ear splitting scream.

**A/n: Oh I'm sorry this chapter is so below par! I hope you don't hate it so much that you abandon the story, I had such serious writers' block with this! (not that that's an excuse!) Please review.**


	17. Chapter 17

It came up on the viewscreen horribly quickly, a sight which normally would have filled them with fear, and it still did for most of them despite the plan, the perimeter of Borg Space. Janeway sat hunched over in her chair, staring at the sight with the gleaming eyes of a fearful yet fascinated animal. "Estimated time of arrival Lieutenant Paris?" she asked, the adrenaline coursing through her evident in her voice.

"Four minutes at our present speed Captain." Tom replied, his fingers tense and ready at the controls.

Janeway glanced behind her to where Harry, Magnus and Erin were grouped over Harry's station. "Are your cloaking devices ready for deployment?"

Harry answered for the suddenly tight lipped Hansens. "Yes Captain, We'll activate them at your discretion." Janeway nodded in satisfaction and looked quickly at Chakotay, who didn't acknowledge her gaze, his pensive face never leaving the viewscreen.

Magnus Hansen cleared his throat, his whole body rigid with tension, his arms frozen to his sides, fists clenched. "I believe we should activate them ninety seconds before we breech the barrier. That will give us a chance to retreat if they fail." Chakotay, hearing these words, felt his shoulders rise even further, so that was the point of no return, ninety seconds.

Janeway's lips turned white and bloodless for a moment before she answered in a quiet tone, "I leave it to your judgement Dr Hansen."

Erin spoke now, her face white but her voice clear and precise. "Captain, their sensors won't be able to see us but they will know that something has penetrated the barrier and defend it accordingly. What my husband and I are saying is that, in essence, once we're through, turning back would impossible."

"I'm aware of that Dr Hansen…" The Captain began tightly but was interrupted by Tom's strident warning.

"Two minutes Captain!"

"Get ready Harry." Janeway ordered calmly, slowly rising out of her seat to join Chakotay, who was already standing, tense and alert.

Tom continued to count down, "96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91…" Janeway gave Harry the signal and he activated the system at exactly ninety seconds before entry.

"They're online and fully operational Captain." Harry exclaimed breathlessly.

"Wait Harry; don't count your chickens just yet." Janeway cautioned as a green flash of light, a scan, lit the ship with a sickly glow for several seconds before disappearing.

"They've scanned us." B'Elanna muttered apprehensively, "Perhaps we should…"

"Be patient Lieutenant." The Captain told her softly, the words barely out of her mouth before a huge cube drifted past, missing Voyager's hull by less than a hundred kilometres.

"Did they see us?" Chakotay asked urgently.

"If they had, we'd have been boarded." Magnus stated matter-of-factly.

Everyone held their breaths at that, until that is B'Elanna did extra scans. "No, we're not being registered, it's working…" She murmured in awe.

A collective sigh of relief ran through the Bridge and a tense but real smile hung proudly from Janeway's lips. "That's the first hurdle over with. You're all doing well, thank you." Almost everyone nodded in acceptance of the vote of confidence but both Hansens and Chakotay kept their eyes on the Collective's ships lurking around them.

Naomi walked slowly through the halls, hugging her lucky kadis-kot board to her chest and allowing the bag of coloured playing pieces hanging from it to brush against her knees as she walked. She picked up speed, but didn't start her habitual cheery skip; the emptiness of the halls and her mother's unusually brittle manner told her that something was going on. Her heart sunk a little, she was frightened of all Borg except for two, which was precisely why she sought Seven out, for comfort, although she told herself that she was following in Neelix's footprints and only trying to raise morale…

She reached the Cargo Bay doors in no time but walked in to find them completely in darkness, even the Borg alcoves were much dimmer than usual and one was sparking violently. Unease settled in her stomach as she called out, "Seven?" No response. She found herself gulping, "Computer, is Seven of Nine still in Cargo Bay 2?"

"Affirmative." The Computer cheerlessly replied. Maybe Seven was just doing some sort of experiment, she reasoned as she moved out of the way of stacks of crates which blocked the view of Seven's alcove. What she saw next made the kadis-kot board crash to the floor, the coloured counters rolling to a stop near the Seven's lifeless head, blood still spilling from her nose and ears.

Chakotay rubbed his eyes as he gave Seven's unconscious body, laid out on a biobed, another painful glance. "What…what's wrong with her?" he asked the Doctor thickly. He saw Erin, holding her daughter's hand up against her tear stained face, bow her head even further and Magnus sitting silently at Seven's other side, his face sunken and grey.

The Doctor sighed and glanced at the scans before meeting his eyes. "She received a violent neurological shock through her alcove…"

Janeway, standing observing all this, asked, "Did her alcove short circuit?"

"I doubt it, this was done from outside the ship…"

Naomi interrupted him, snuffling against her mother's uniform as she hugged against her waist. "Why was she…bl… bleeding so…much?"

The Doctor left the biobed and went over to Naomi, kneeling down to her height. "Some capillaries…remember I told you about capillaries?" The little girl nodded weakly and he continued, "Well some of those in her head got hurt by the shock and they bled but you got to her just in time, she doesn't seem to have any brain damage…"

"Thank God!" Erin sobbed out, her upper body nearly collapsing onto the biobed.

Samantha Wildman felt relieved but she saw beside her that Icheb's face had darkened and was twitching with anger. "Come on honey, she's going to be fine, let's leave her to the Doctor, alright?" Naomi nodded and everyone smiled weakly at her as she left but as soon as the doors shut behind the two Wildmans Icheb exploded, launching himself at the two Hansens.

"How _dare_ you cry over her? It's your fault!" He shouted at them angrily.

"Icheb…" Janeway began in shocked rebuke but Icheb for once in his life was blinded by emotion and ignored her entirely.

"It was the Queen! You _know_ it was!" He raged brokenly.

Chakotay watching the Hansens expressions change from shock to mortification, reluctantly held him back. "What are you talking about Icheb?" Icheb fought him for a moment before he saw the pain in his First Officer face and reined his anger in slightly.

"The Queen did this Commander. Only the Collective could do this to Seven through an alcove! She knows everything, has probably _always_ known everything and they still went through with it…"

"You think we _wanted _this?" Erin exclaimed.

Icheb looked about to retort but Chakotay held him back, though as he faced them he looked angrier and more grief stricken than the young Borg as he said, "Is this true?"

The Captain intervened, "This is exactly what the Queen wants, to cause division! Now we know it's impossible to go back so we need to find a way and I need all of your help to do it! Seven's going to recover but it won't do her any good if we let ourselves be assimilated!" She took a breath and looked around at all the troubled faces. "Reporting to the Bridge will help Seven more than standing around arguing, do I make myself clear?"

Icheb now seemed to have calmed himself enough to nod abruptly and follow her out but Chakotay and Erin hovered while Magnus remained in the same silent and unmoving catatonic state he'd been in since he'd seen his daughter lying helpless on the biobed. "Magnus, are you coming?" she snapped with irritable tearfulness.

Several seconds passed before he robotically answered, "I'm staying here."

"No, you're _not_..." Chakotay growled, reaching the end of his tether.

He sighed heavily. "I'm an old man who doesn't care if he lives or dies. Just leave me alone with the daughter I've ruined…" Chakotay and Erin both stared at him with a mixture of anger and pity but the Doctor dragged them out of it and sent them away yet he allowed Seven's father, who he alone could see would be useless to their efforts, he was so defeated and broken, that he allowed him to stay by Seven's bedside.

Chakotay walked, zombie like, to the Bridge, his heart and most of his mind remaining behind in Sickbay but when he stepped back onto the Bridge what he saw on the viewscreen brought him back with a jot as his eyes met the soulless ones of the Borg Queen.

Her lips curved up sadistically at the sight of him. "Good evening Commander…or do you prefer Chakotay? We feel like we know you, since one of our drones loves you to death...or rather assimilation."

**A/n: Wow, I didn't plan it to be quite as dark as this but I hope it's okay! Please review since I'm loaded with the cold and I procrastinated on my homework to update this for you!**


	18. Chapter 18

"…loves you to death…or rather assimilation." The Borg Queen's voice echoed eerily around Chakotay's head, everything around him was shut out as the sight of the Queen paralysed him with horrendous memories, not his but Seven's and the entire Collective's as signals flooded the normally inoperative Borg neural transceiver set into his spinal column. Janeway, seeing her frozen First Officer just staring at the Queen as if grotesquely captivated, felt hot anger flow in parallel with brain numbing panic through her veins. "Chakotay!"

The Queen smirked cruelly. "Jealous of our connection Captain?" she sneered.

Janeway growled and twisted round to Tactical. "Tuvok, shut her out of our systems! I don't care how you do it…"

Tuvok frantically tried to begin the process but within a moment he locked his barely steady eyes back onto his Captain. "I cannot Captain. They're hacking us…"

The Queen gave a sardonic laugh. "Have you decided not to talk to us now that things are not proceeding as you planned?" Janeway hissed wordlessly. "Fine. Verbal communication is irrelevant…we will share many a thought soon enough."

"I wouldn't bet on it!" Janeway retorted with a protective snarl.

The Queen regarded her coolly. "Prepare to be assimilated." With that parting threat the viewscreen went dead and Chakotay suddenly sprang back to life.

"Captain…" He began in a strained, foreboding tone.

The ship shook as a plasma torpedo grazed its side and Janeway had to struggle to stay upright as she and the Commander exchanged a fearful glance, "I know Chakotay, I know."

As the Bridge vibrated with another hit, B'Elanna's voice shouted up the comm. system from Engineering, "Captain, we won't be able to take that kind of punishment for long…"

Janeway's eyes frantically scanned the whole Bridge and everyone in it. "If anyone's got any ideas, tell me now!"

Harry sighed and plunged into a detailed analysis of the situation. "Six Cubes to starboard, five Spheres to port, a Cube and two Spheres aft…" He paused and gulped as it got worse not better. "We're surrounded Captain."

Icheb, leaning over the same scans, suddenly did a double take. "Perhaps Ensign Kim's assessment is a little premature Captain…"

"Share with us please Icheb!" The Captain shouted in exasperation over the din as explosions rang out and Tom did his most complex defensive manoeuvres, twisting the ship every which way to try and avoid further damage.

"Our only escape route is the transwarp conduit, which my new scans tell me opens much closer than we thought, 0.75 light-years to our starboard side. If we could get through their defences at this precise point…" He reeled off the coordinates, "…then we could go straight to the Alpha Quadrant."

Tom turned to him in sceptical disbelief as he studied the set of coordinates. "We'd never get there! It's right beyond the largest group of Borg! How are we supposed to…"

Erin Hansen suddenly cut him off sharply. "Captain, does this ship have a grade 3 deflector?" she asked urgently.

"What's _that_ got to do with anything?" Tom snapped at her incredulously.

Tuvok however took the former Borg seriously. "Voyager is equipped with a grade 4 deflector, the largest and most accurate in the fleet at the time of her deployment."

Erin inhaled sharply as everyone turned to look at her. On cue she began a very abridged explanation, "When Magnus and I were studying the Borg we discovered a flaw in their shielding technology, it would take too long to explain why but if charged chronotron particles are concentrated enough at a Borg vessel they could, in theory, deactivate their shields entirely, a single phaser shot in the right place could destroy the vessel…"

Janeway gasped, cottoning on, "And a strong deflector, grade 3 or above, creates charged chronotron particles! Did you ever try to weaponise a deflector to…"

"No. The Raven didn't have a good enough deflector and at the time Magnus and I weren't interested in harming the Borg…" She trailed off, regretting never giving the discovery to Starfleet, feeling too proud to risk being laughed at.

"Icheb, do you think we could do it?" Janeway asked.

"Seven and I believed it was remotely possible when we studied the theory last year…"

"Well, remote or not, we'll just need to try it! You go and help B'Elanna create the particles in Engineering and Dr Hansen can direct the deflector from Astrometrics."

"Yes Captain!" Both former Borg exclaimed in unison, forgetting their earlier clash in Sickbay as the need to save the ship and all aboard her overwhelmed everything else. Passing the coordinates of the transwarp conduit to a now eager Tom Paris they disappeared to do their duty.

Seven's mind throbbed with an incessant buzzing, part of her found the sound, the sensation of it, deeply comforting but another part of her shrank back from that buzz of voices, one but many… This thought jerked her awake violently with a ragged gasp, and then she was immediately confused by who was looking down at her desolately. "Pa…Papa?" she choked out in a whisper.

He stared at her for several seconds in disbelieving silence before his unmoving face crumpled with long suppressed emotion. "Anni…Annika? He murmured in a voice even more shaken than hers had been.

The sound of the name rejected long before brought Seven back to full consciousness and she slowly became aware of her surroundings, an overwhelmed Sickbay, the sinister red shadow cast by the Red Alert lights in the walls… Red Alert? She sat up abruptly, ignoring the pain and dizziness that accompanied the movement. "What's going on?" she asked her father as he anxiously reached out to stop her jumping from the biobed. She quickly freed herself from his grasp, though gently because his expression frightened her, "Father!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Tell me what's happened!" He just held her gaze sorrowfully until her memory returned. "The Borg…I am too late. We're in Borg space…"

Magnus gulped convulsively. "I…I'm sorry…I thought…"

"It's irrelevant now Father." Seven told him, although not unkindly, her hand on his shaking arm as she tapped her comm. badge. "Captain, how can I help?"

"Seven!" the Captain exclaimed, her relief evident even over the comm. system as the ship shook with another hit. "Your mother's in Astrometrics doing something with the deflector…your father will know what I mean, go and help her both of you!"

Seven turned sharply to her father, "What is she referring to?"

"The…the chronotron flaw…" He muttered in a stunned tone.

Realisation hit Seven and she hurriedly responded to the Captain, "We're on our way Captain."

Quickly she jumped off the biobed but her father gripped her arm once more in a vice like grip. "You're injured…you can't go…"

"I must. We both must." She reiterated as she headed to the nearest console to check the transporters, feeling relief surge through her when she saw that they were still operational. Dialling in for Astrometrics she spoke to her father again, unhappily noting that he looked as if he were, understandably, having a nervous breakdown. "Come and help me…" She cautiously reached out her hand to him, "Please Papa." He nodded slowly and grasped her hand as if clutching a life preserver. At Seven's command the transporter immediately beamed them away.

"I believe we have as many particles as we can get Dr Hansen, but we'll only have enough to fire at five Cubes." Icheb's voice echoed through Astrometrics.

Erin sighed heavily and leaned on the console to hold herself up. "That will just have to do then. Remember we're concentrating on the starboard side, in the direction of the transwarp conduit."

"Yes Dr Hansen." He replied, just as Erin was shocked by the sudden appearance of her husband and daughter beside her.

"Annika!" Erin cried out, "You're too badly injured to be…"

Seven sighed and immediately bent over the console. "This situation seemed to be "all hands on deck", to use the human expression, Mother." She studied what had already been done, "We must use this as quickly as possible, before the electromagnetic charge leaves the particles…"

"I know but the deflector isn't accurate enough yet…" Erin explained unhappily.

Magnus suddenly came to life. "Is it within 0.3 in range?"

"Barely, but that isn't the optimum…" Erin began to reply as an explosion filled their ears.

"I don't think we can afford to be perfectionists today, tell the Captain we're ready." Magnus said in a commanding tone, bent over the controls.

Seven obediently tapped her comm. badge. "Captain, we're ready to proceed."

"Not a minute too soon! Our shields are gone! Go!" the Captain shouted.

"Icheb, get ready." Seven ordered.

"Releasing the particles…NOW!" Icheb shouted through the comm. line.

"Deflector is aimed and activated." Erin confirmed, just as the viewscreen in front of them, overwhelmed with Borg Cubes suddenly showed the space between the Cubes lighting up as if it had been set on fire.

"When do I fire on the first Cube?" Chakotay asked from the Bridge.

"We have to wait thirty seconds!" Magnus replied, before suddenly exclaiming, "NOW!" Voyager's phasers fired and the nearest Cube was obliterated within seconds, then the next nearest…

On the Bridge the growing cascade effect was watched with ever increasing awe as ship after ship exploded into nothingness. "I can't believe it…" Janeway murmured, staring at the unbelievable sight on the viewscreen.

"Captain! We're at the edge of the transwarp conduit!" Tom shouted excitedly.

"Full speed ahead then Mr Paris!" Janeway ordered, almost laughing in disbelief. Their elation was short lived however as the green transporters of the remaining Borg materialised on the ship.

Seven felt sick as the Captain's voice confirmed her worst fear. "We've been boarded…" Her voice was suddenly cut off.

"Annika! Magnus!" Erin cried out as she saw a drone appear in Astrometrics.

"It's a last ditch attempt, we've beaten them…" Magnus tried to reassure them, his words wrenching Seven's eyes back to the viewscreen as she saw they'd reached their goal.

"We're in the conduit…and they're not following us…" She murmured but despite these words the single drone in the room headed menacingly towards them, his face blank.

"We are Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. We are…" Suddenly the drone's face crumpled in pain, fear and confusion crossing his mangled features as he halted mid step.

"Going into the transwarp conduit must have severed the link to the hive mind…" Erin reasoned in a still fearful whisper.

Seven now took charge, cautiously stepping closer to the drone. "I know you are confused but do not be afraid. Your link to the Collective has been severed, you are now an individual."

The drone twitched, his hand tightening on his phaser. "No…no…_impossible_!" With those words he fired the phaser straight at Seven but Magnus reacted like lightening and stood in front of her, taking the full brunt of the blast as both Erin and Seven screamed. Seeing the man collapse inwards, onto Seven, the drone's whole body went limp and both he and his phaser joined his victim on the floor.

Seven sank, shuddering violently, onto her knees, gasping as her mind registered her father's lifeless body on the floor. "Papa… Papa!" she sobbed brokenly as she mindlessly lifted his head onto her lap.

"_NO! _Magnus!" Erin screamed, wrenching her comm. badge off and crying into it, "Med…medical emergency… Please!"

"Papa…" whispered Seven pleadingly, stroking his cheek ceaselessly. "Don't go please! I'm…I'm sorry…" She choked out, weeping. His pale eyelashes fluttered weakly at her words, revealing for a moment the blue eyes she had inherited, now rapidly dimming. Seven gasped, "Why did you do that? _Why_?" His only reply was to gaze up at her, a tiny but relieved smile crossing his lips at the sight of her, then a deep sigh shook him and he died.

**A/n: Please review. I'll hopefully have the closing chapter up tomorrow.**


	19. Chapter 19

"We are Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." Those words spoken by all the drones on the Bridge but in sinister unison, immediately made everyone on the Bridge ready phasers but the Captain held up her hand to stop them, fearing a bloodbath as the Borg mechanically approached but knowing they were almost out of danger.

"Wait." She commanded sharply as Tom looked ready to fire at the drone nearest her, turning to look at Harry Kim. "Are they following us Mr Kim?"

Harry gulped and glanced down at his Operations console. "It doesn't seem that way Captain; we're the only ship in here…" He was interrupted as the green tinted passageway which made up the transwarp conduit disappeared and Voyager came to an abrupt, shuddering halt, now only normal, star specked space surrounding them.

"Where are we?" Chakotay asked pensively as he saw the Borg begin to cringe in pain.

Harry's mouth dropped open in overjoyed disbelief as he read the scans. "The…the Alpha Quadrant Commander. We made it! We're home!"

"We…we are…Borg…" The drones began to choke out, suddenly sounding singular, even frightened. One, his injection nodules extended headed blindly towards the Captain, face convulsing. Before the Captain could move or do anything in self defence, Tuvok shot the drone dead and he fell, like a stone, to Janeway's feet.

Janeway, swallowing back bile as she looked down at the open, lifeless eyes for the drone, choked out, "Was that really necessary? They were disconnected…"

Tuvok looked down at her stoically from Tactical. "Be that as it may, we know that a newly disconnected drone is as dangerous as and even more unpredictable than any full member of the Collective."

Chakotay frowned in distaste at this logic, despite knowing it was true, thinking of Seven. The Captain could only nod sharply in acknowledgement. "Beam the rest to Sickbay for treatment."

"Yes Captain." Tuvok intoned and with one push of a button all trace of drones even being on the Bridge was gone in a flash of the transporters.

Everyone remained in a shocked and relived silence for a moment before Tom suddenly spoke up in an overawed and doubting tone, "Captain, we're being hailed...the U.S.S Montana. It seems as if we're getting a whole Starfleet convoy for a welcoming committee."

Janeway's head twisted round to see a sight she knew she'd never forget, a seemingly endless group of Starfleet ships heading straight for them. "Open the line Mr Paris." She ordered softly.

Admiral Owen Paris' face suddenly filled the viewscreen. "Dad…" Tom whispered at the sight of him.

"Tom… Tom!" He exclaimed when he saw his son. "I can't believe…"

Janeway felt her smile widen. "Hello Admiral." She interrupted gently.

Admiral Paris met her eyes, his own filled with happiness, admiration and more than a little surprise. "Kathryn, I think you're going to have to explain why we come out here expecting a Borg invasion and find you of all people."

"Gladly Admiral. I think I have over seven years of explaining to do." She replied laughingly.

It finally began to sink in to Chakotay's mind what had happened. They were safe, home. It was all over! Excitedly he turned away from the viewscreen and activated his comm. badge. "Seven! We did it! We're in the Alpha Quadrant, the Borg are gone!" He waited for a response but nothing came through the line. "Seven?" A sudden chill of sickening, unexplainable fear gripped him and he whirled round anxiously to look at Harry. "Is the comm. system operational Ensign?"

"Yes Commander, completely. Why?" Chakotay didn't reply and ran out of the Bridge without another word.

The sight that greeted him in Astrometrics confirmed his very worse fears. For a moment he couldn't take it all in, the unconscious drone blocking the doorway, Erin collapsed on her knees, her shaking back pressing against the console and her face contorted with grief, her soft hysterical weeping the only sound in the otherwise silent room. It was the sight of what had caused all this that pulled words from his mouth however, Seven, her face mirroring the ghastly whiteness of the drone, on her knees, disturbingly motionless as she cradled her father's corpse on her blood stained lap. "Oh God…" Muttered Chakotay finally, not even aware of the words leaving his lips as he stepped over the drone and sank down beside her. "Seven? Seven, what happened? He asked desperately.

She didn't react to him, her gaze glassy, far off and catatonic. She wasn't even crying, though it was obvious, by the ghostly streaks that stained her face that she had been before shock had paralysed her. Chakotay cautiously allowed his fingers to brush her face, the skin icy cold, and turn it towards him. "What happened, my love?"

His touch made her body release one huge shiver, her gaze fixed on the floor as a robotic, emotionless voice left her blue tinged lips, "The…the drone…he panicked when he was disconnected and fired at me but…" Her voice caught agonisingly in her throat and she fell silent again, her eyes roving until they found her father's face again and the dam began to crack. "Why? Why did he save me? I…I hated him…I was so…angry…"

Chakotay sought out her frozen hand and held it, peering intensely into her face. "This _isn't_ your fault. It never could be, he chose to save you that because he _loved_ you…" He whispered, gulping heavily as he looked at her distraught face and the still body. "…and…and…I'm glad that he… did save you…" He admitted in choked voice. These words seemed to be that last straw for Seven's self control and her head bowed, horrible violent groans leaving her until her body sagged in defeat and Chakotay pulled her into his arms where she wept uncontrollably.

**Five Years Later**

Erin Hansen pulled herself up off the damp grass, her eyes moving away from the inscription engraved under the flowers she'd just laid and back up to the scenic sight of the sun rushing to sink into the horizon as this short, bright day of midwinter gave way once again to night. She was pulled out of her introspection by a stubborn pull on her heavy skirt and a small voice floating upwards, "Granny?"

Erin smilingly looked down into the serious blue eyed gaze of her three and a half year old granddaughter and fondly brushed the mahogany curls off her dainty face as she greeted her. "Hi angel."

The little girl held out a single large and brightly coloured, if slightly battered, flower to her grandmother. "Granny, I brought this for Grandpa, do you think he would've liked it?"

"Oh, I know he would've done, especially since it comes from you. Why don't you put it down there for him?" Erin suggested. The child beamed at the praise but as she laid the flower her expression sobered appropriately.

"Erin! Erin!" Erin Hansen turned to see her daughter heading breathlessly towards them up the hill, the little girl turning around contritely at her mother's shouts. Seven knelt down beside her daughter and grasped her shoulders. "Erin, you know it's wrong to run away from your Papa and me." She admonished sternly.

The younger Erin looked slightly shamefaced. "I know Mama, but I didn't want Granny to be lonely…"

Seven's expression softened. "Okay, just don't do it again." Erin nodded and hugged her around the waist before going back to her grandmother, who was now sitting tiredly on a nearby bench. Alone for the moment Seven slowly laid her own flowers down and read the inscription once more as she always did:

_Magnus Hansen_

_2317-2377_

_Beloved Husband, Father and Brother_

_Loved and forgiven here, may we all be reunited there._

With a deep sigh she lifted her head again and headed back to her mother and daughter, lifting "little" Erin into her lap as she turned with concern to her daughter's namesake, "Are you alright Mama?"

Erin Hansen sighed before meeting her gaze. "As alright as if ever can on this day, but as you know, it will ease again." She watched Annika nod slowly before changing the subject. "Where are the boys then?"

" Coming up the hill with Papa." Little Erin replied shortly. "They're so slow!"

Erin laughed at the child. "Remember your brothers can't run like you yet sweetheart. Your Papa needs to push them up this big hill in the stroller."

"Then Papa needs to push harder!" Little Erin responded, standing her ground.

A deep laugh was heard behind them. "You have so little faith in me Erin!" Chakotay teased as he finally reached them. Erin's five month old twin brothers, were content in the stroller he held. Kole, his name a short form of Kolopak, was still sound asleep, while baby Magnus was alert and gurgling.

"I do so Papa!" Erin exclaimed, rising to the bait and pouncing on her father, giggling happily.

Chakotay caught her but exchanged a smile tinged with sadness with Seven and her mother as all three sets of eyes settled on the grave and for a moment they went back in time.

**A/n: That's the end. I hope you like it. Thanks to every present and future reader of this story, you've helped me get past 100 reviews which I never dreamt of when I started this. Thanks especially to my reviewers, favouriters, story and author alerters, Sweetdeath04, lisac1965, DestinChild, mad eye harry, MidnightVampireCharlotte, Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay, MetalChaos, Megagalvatron12, klester 1987, lizzy74656, SiriusBlackFan2, EMcKinney, MONEBUDDHA, natsfanfiction, speedy2green, babybosn, Black Smog, creation17024, DramaLexy, fantasyinmymind, JustStarsForDeadEyes, Kai3anime, Lalene Brooks, Ledderlegs, Lenn.n.n, Midnightblack-Doctor, NightOwl1107, ojmwu, Samvalasam, skyejag, T'lily Kae'amp, tiamat100, timdoe, AmaryllisBird, Chibi-Youma Hime, cjewellm, LoveAngelKAS, jordikov, juliaw, nerdlymike, NyGi, YetAnotherJanewayFan, firebirdgirl and xXTheGothicBumblebeeXx. Thanks everyone! Please review one last time and tell me what you think of the story and this chapter**


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